How Commanders can restrict Lions WR Amon-Ra St. Brown in Divisional Round

They're already painfully aware of the damage Amon-Ra St. Brown can do, but the Washington Commanders can't let the prolific Detroit Lions wide receiver be a factor in the Divisional Round of the playoffs.

Keeping the 115-catch All-Pro quiet will leave Lions quarterback Jared Goff without his go-to target in clutch situations. Taking St. Brown away isn't easy — something the Commanders learned the hard way when he burned them for nine catches, 116 yards, and two touchdowns in 2022.

Fortunately, the Commanders can flip the script with a combination of double coverage, clogging the middle of the field to block his favorite routes, and using press technique at the line of scrimmage.

The three-pronged plan must start with a reshuffle in the secondary.

Coverage switch key for Commanders against Amon-Ra St. Brown

Putting Marshon Lattimore over St. Brown is the obvious move. However, the problem is the four-time Pro Bowl cornerback hasn't been quite himself since arriving via trade at midseason.

Lattimore was acquired to be a shutdown cover man who could handle an opponent's best receiver on an island. But he struggled mightily against Mike Evans during the wild-card win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Those struggles led the Commanders to move Lattimore away from Evans and double the latter. It's the same specific adjustment Washington's defense needs against St. Brown at Ford Field on Saturday Night Football.

Commanders defensive coordinator Joe Whitt Jr. should put rookie Mike Sainristil over St. Brown. The former Michigan slot defender is physical enough to handle him across the middle of the field, where the 25-year-old does most of his damage.

Sainristil will be able to get handsy with St. Brown early in his routes if safety Quan Martin stays over the top. The wideout needs to see double coverage on every snap, but particularly on third down, where he knows no equal, per numbers from The 33rd Team.

Deterring Goff from looking toward his safety valve on football's money down is one of the keys to an upset for the Commanders. St. Brown must also face a fight to get open on each play.

Commanders must not shy away from press coverage versus Amon-Ra St. Brown

Hardly anybody stops Detroit's passing game for long. Those that have relied on press coverage. It's something the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and burly cornerback Jamel Dean used effectively against the Lions in last season's playoffs, according to Doug Farrar of Athlon Sports:

"Detroit's receivers did not have a good time against Buccaneers CB Jamel Dean when Dean was pressed up on Amon-Ra St. Brown, Josh Reynolds, or Jameson Williams. Four press targets, no completions."

Doug Farrar

Sainristil is not as physically imposing as 6-foot-1, 206-pound Dean, but the first-year pro is a scrapper. He can get his hands on St. Brown early and work to redirect the run-after-catch specialist.

Shifting St. Brown out of his favorite routes will be essential if the Commanders are going to keep him quiet.

Commanders must take away the slant and hitch

St. Brown lines up outside, but he feasts between the numbers. This route chart from Week 9's win over the Green Bay Packers, per Next Gen Stats, shows his dominance on in-breaking routes.

St. Brown loves a slant, but the Commanders can take that route away in two ways. First, the corner over him must be rolled up on the receiver pre-snap.

He can't be given a free release like he was for this way too-easy catch against the Jacksonville Jaguars that put No. 14 over 1,000 yards this season.

Jamming him early will wreck the timing of the quick slants Goff and St. Brown love.

Press coverage can also help Sainristil and company funnel St. Brown to some of the heavier hitters on the Commanders' defense. He needs to regularly see middle linebacker Bobby Wagner or hybrid safety Jeremy Chinn waiting to deliver punishment at the catch point.

Making St. Brown pay a heavy price for every slant will force him to make a cost vs. benefit analysis of running his main route. The Commanders also need to eliminate the hitch.

St. Brown loves to run coverage vertical, stop, turn, and come back to the ball. It's the kind of play that slaughters defenses for playing off-coverage.

The Commanders can't make that mistake. They must roll corners up onto St. Brown, jam him early and force him into congested cul-de-sacs where their enforcers are waiting to deliver the boom.

Detroit's offense is all about physical dominance. It starts in the running game, but St. Brown is the thumper through the air. The Commanders mustn't be intimidated and need to win the fight early.

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