Ben Sinnott won't have made too many Los Angeles Rams players nervous ahead of Week 9's matchup with the Washington Commanders. Least of all, reigning AP Defensive Player of the Year Myles Garrett.
The league's all-time record holder for sacks in a single season is officially active for the game at Northwest Stadium. Garrett's missed a lot of time with a knee issue that required surgery, but he's now back and will be keen to hit the ground running.
It's Garrett's first game back and his first action since Week 1, but he's a threat the Commanders can't ignore.
Ben Sinnott's improved blocking must show up for the Commanders in Week 9
Instead, first-year offensive coordinator David Blough needs special plans to keep No. 95 in check and prevent the rest of a rampaging Rams' defensive front from feasting on Washington franchise quarterback Jayden Daniels.
Those plans should involve 2024 second-round draft pick Sinnott.
The perennial underperformer has a sneakily important role to play in a potential upset. A role that'll be more important with fellow blocking tight end John Bates nursing a shoulder problem throughout the week.
Sinnott's main job will be adding to his growing highlight reel of crushing blocks on the edges and in space. He's quietly been putting defenders on skates, both from his familiar alignment as a traditional tight end and as a de facto fullback in Blough's system.
The latter position is key to how Sinnott can help the Commanders keep Garrett under wraps. One block against the Rams' NFC West rivals, the San Francisco 49ers from Week 6, highlighted by film analyst and Substack writer Mark Bullock, shows how.
Sinnott worked up from the backfield to chip with a vengeance and send the Niners' rookie edge-rusher Romello Height tumbling. This is the kind of violent help he will need against Garrett. Especially whenever the prolific quarterback hunter lines up over erratic Commanders' left tackle Brandon Coleman.
Ben Sinnott must become Commanders' security for underperforming Brandon Coleman
Garrett will probably have a reduced snap count in his comeback game, but he'll still likely target Coleman early. Particularly since second-year right tackle Josh Conerly Jr. is showing greater potential this season.
Sliding another struggling offensive lineman, left guard Chris Paul, over to double Garrett would be a risky strategy. The Commanders will need Paul to help center Lucas Patrick against the Rams' defensive tackles Braden Fiske and the still-effective Aaron Donald.
This duo creates a formidable interior force, allowing edge rushers Byron Young and Josaiah Stewart to face more one-on-one matchups. Young and Stewart are capable and disruptive, but Garrett brings a whole other level of heat.
He needs to see a tight end, preferably Sinnott or a fully healthy Bates, over him on every snap he plays, but the Commanders have another way to slow Garrett. It's to increase their rushing output, even if it means letting a potential Rams trade target take the lead.
Whoever carries the ball will benefit from Sinnott clearing running lanes. He's long been considered a useful weapon blocking for the Commanders' ground attack, and this is the ideal game to build on that reputation.
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