Late in last week’s Wild Card playoff game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Jayden Daniels made one final sensational run to gain a first down and set up the game-winning field goal.
A small contingent of Washington Commanders' fans began an MVP chant. The TV announcers chuckled, noting that Daniels would almost certainly win the Offensive Rookie of the Year, but not MVP of the entire league.
After Washington’s stunning upset of the top-seeded Detroit Lions, does anyone want to rethink that opinion?
Of course, end-of-season awards are based only on the regular season, so this latest triumph wouldn’t matter. And he does not deserve to win it over fellow quarterbacks like Lamar Jackson and Josh Allen. But don’t tell that to a Commanders fan.
Not today. Not after the rookie sensation has just taken his team to the NFC Conference championship for the first time in more than 30 years.
Daniels could be the main takeaway headliner every single week, but I would like to spread the love a bit.
This win required heroic efforts from a great many players, from big names like Terry McLaurin to unheralded backups like Trent Scott. One name who you haven’t heard nearly enough this year played as big a role as anyone — Daniels included — in the Commanders' win. That is defensive coordinator Joe Whitt Jr.
When Whitt joined Dan Quinn in Dallas as the secondary coach and pass game coordinator in 2021, he helped preside over an astonishing turn-around.
Joe Whitt Jr. schemed up Commanders' defense masterfully at the Lions
The Cowboys pass defense had been among the league’s worst in 2020, surrendering 34 touchdowns. In Whitt’s first season coaching the defensive backs, they surrendered more yards, but that was a function of Dallas playing with the lead and forcing opponents to throw more than in 2020. In 2021, Dallas’ pass defense surrendered 10 fewer touchdowns than in the previous season. Most importantly, he turned them into genuine ball hawks.
Led by Trevon Diggs, the Cowboys improved from a paltry 10 interceptions in 2020 to 26 in 2021. The defense returned five of those picks for scores and racked up more than 400 yards on interception returns alone. That was up from zero touchdowns and barely 100 yards the year before Whitt arrived.
In his first season as Washington's defensive coordinator, Whitt has worked wonders. The NFL's worst defense in 2023 turned into a very respectable unit under his leadership. They have not been dominant, but they have improved greatly in yardage and points allowed.
The pass defense gave up 1,000 fewer yards and 14 fewer receiving touchdowns than the 2023 edition of the Commanders. The unit was better across the board. Except in one baffling area.
Interceptions, the magic ingredient in the Cowboys’ turn-around, never came. Washington intercepted fewer passes in 2024 than they had in 2023. And they had only picked off eight, a very poor total. In the 2024 regular season, they had seven.
For some reason, Whitt was not able to turn his defensive backs into dangerous playmakers as he had done with the Cowboys. Until they took on the Lions in the biggest game of the year.
Washington wasn’t able to shut down Detroit’s explosive offense very often. But when they did stop them, it was with big, game-altering plays.
The Commanders forced turnovers. That, along with Daniels’ extraordinary play, is what secured the victory.
These were not freak plays. It was sensational, aggressive coverage by talented young defensive backs, aided by a defensive line that managed to rattle Lions’ quarterback Jared Goff.
On the biggest pick, it was perfect zone coverage. Cornerbacks Marshon Lattimore and Noah Igbinoghene dropped into textbook lanes forcing a high throw from Goff. Safety Quan Martin took advantage of the situation by snagging an interception and returning it for a touchdown.
It was second-round rookie Mike Sainristil running stride for stride with Lions’ speedster Jameson Williams and then undercutting Goff’s throw for another pick. This one came just before half-time and prevented Detroit from scoring a momentum-shifting touchdown.
Later, Sainristil would not be fooled on a gadget play, grabbing his second interception — this one thrown by Williams.
It was Jeremy Chinn, the safety who had fallen out of favor with the Carolina Panthers because he was not good enough in pass coverage, putting an end to the game with another interception near the end-zone.
In all, the Commanders' defense which had seven interceptions for the entire season, picked off four Lions’ passes, turning them into 69 yards and one touchdown. Whitt just needed a little more time to do in Washington what he had done in Dallas.
He chose the most important game of the season to unveil the Commanders' new pass defense. It went from being a liability to a significant weapon. And all on the eve of his head coaching interview with the New York Jets.
#Commanders OC Kliff Kingsbury has requests from the #Bears and #Saints, but has not interviewed for any head coaching job. After that performance, other requests could be coming.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) January 19, 2025
Meanwhile, DC Joe Whitt Jr. will interview for the #Jets head coaching job tomorrow morning.
If the Commanders' defense can continue to play at this level — they also recovered a key fumble in the first half — they could become a truly scary team.
Washington already has a quarterback rapidly approaching the NFL MVP level. They have solid weapons on offense. If Whitt can give them a defense that consistently takes the ball away from opponents, there’s no limit to where this team can go.