4 fatal flaws the Commanders must rectify during their 2024 bye week
By James Dudko
Changing tendencies in pass protection
Defeats to the Pittsburgh Steelers and Dallas Cowboys revealed a worrying trend for the Washington Commanders. Namely, how successfully defenses wrecked offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury's pass-protection designs with the blitz.
The specific problem relates to a tendency when dealing with pressure off the edges. Something described by Nick Akridge of Pro Football Focus.
"Cowboys knew exactly how to attack the Commanders OLine. For weeks Washington's response to pressure was chip the edge rushers. Cowboys countered that by moving Parsons to the interior to prevent those chips on him then held those routes up and blitz the inside gaps."
-Â Nick Akridge, Pro Football Focus
Rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels took seven sacks against the blitz-happy Cowboys and Steelers. Some of those takedowns owed a lot to smart scheming by the opposition, as well as some inexperience on the part of the No. 2 overall selection in the 2024 NFL Draft. It's something teams will look to exploit moving forward unless the complication is rectified.
The broader concern is the number of sacks made possible because teams are on to how Kingsbury likes to build protection and react to pressure. Predictability can prove fatal for any team in the pros, but especially for an offense lacking elite talent along the line.
This group has done well overall throughout the campaign. General manager Adam Peters made some drastic changes along the protection in readiness for a rookie signal-caller's arrival. They became a cohesive group quickly and represented a significant upgrade on anything Washington's had in recent years. Improving their blocking concepts versus creative blitz packages is the next step for this unit.
Kingsbury needs a new plan for solidifying the edges. Preferably one with plenty of adjustment calls for Daniels to use whenever defenses show interior pressure.
The play-caller should recognize this during this reflection period over the bye week. Washington needs this to enhance once everyone returns from their extended rest period.