What big problems do the Washington Commanders need to fix heading into their Week 4 divisional showdown at the Philadelphia Eagles?
One of the best things about the NFL is that after every poor performance, there's a rapid chance to put things right more often than not. The Washington Commanders are in this boat after suffering an embarrassing loss against the Buffalo Bills, which brought them back down to earth after a decent start to their regular season commitments.
Some harsh lessons were taken on board in no uncertain terms. The Bills exploited almost every weakness that showed up on film, which will be a similar method other teams will now deploy in pursuit of achieving similar success.
There is no time for the Commanders to stew in their misery. Especially considering the next challenge is a tough-looking test at the Philadelphia Eagles, a divisional opponent who looks primed for another deep postseason run following an impressive 3-0 opening.
With this in mind, here are four big problems the Commanders must fix heading into Week 4.
Commanders' communication in Cover 2
Jack Del Rio likes to implement a lot of Cover 2 zone coverage within his defensive scheme. That's all well and good, but if pressure doesn't consistently arrive from the defensive front, it exposes a lack of positional nuance and communication across the secondary.
This is something the Buffalo Bills picked apart at will. Quality pass-catchers like Gabe Davis and Stefon Diggs found the soft holes constantly and thanks to a number of blown assignments, significant yards were generated as a result.
The Washington Commanders' defensive front isn't going to get overawed like this collectively much. However, things have to improve in terms of pass defense when Del Rio implements Cover 2 moving forward.
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Commanders OT consistency
This won't come as a surprise to anyone who has followed the Washington Commanders closely in recent years. The offensive tackle positions have been inconsistent at best since Ron Rivera took over as head coach and looking at how things are unfolding this season, nothing much is changing.
Charles Leno Jr. was the best of a bad bunch on their protection in 2022. He's a prominent leader within the locker room, but there was shakiness to his performance level against the Buffalo Bills that cannot be ignored.
If that wasn't bad enough, Andrew Wylie doesn't look like the answer at right tackle. The free-agent signing's been a glorified turnstile over the first three games and is clearly being targeted by opposing defensive schemes as a weak link in Washington's armor.
In fairness to the interior trio of Nick Gates, Saahdiq Charles, and Sam Cosmi, they've been sufficient upon examining their full body of work. It's on the edge where things are evolving in a more concerning manner.
It won't take long for the Philadelphia Eagles to identify this during their game-day preparations this week. Therefore, Leno and Wylie must raise their production and put their vast experience to good use in pursuit of overcoming some growing adversity.
Commanders LB discipline
Again, this looked like a grave concern throughout the offseason. If the causal fan or analyst could see it, why couldn't the experienced tandem of head coach Ron Rivera and defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio?
Little to no investment was made in the linebacker position in free agency or the draft. The Washington Commanders opted to replace Cody Barton with Cole Holcomb, which looks like a grave error in judgment right now based on the free-agent signing's current production.
If one looked at Barton's tackle stats and nothing else, one would be hard-pressed to see what the problem was. However, the former third-round selection's discipline against the run leaves a lot to be desired - exactly what the Commanders didn't need going up against a mobile, physical quarterback in Josh Allen.
Jamin Davis is doing a little better, but it's still not in keeping with the production of a third-year pro and former first-round selection. The Commanders need him to communicate and enforce in equal measure, especially given Barton's failings over the first three weeks.
Whether this results in Khaleke Hudson or Jabril Cox coming into the mix remains to be seen. But the Philadelphia Eagles have a potent running back trio and quarterback Jalen Hurts, who can also accumulate significant rushing yardage if not accounted for.
This has to be addressed in the coming days. Otherwise, the same complications will arise at Lincoln Financial Field.
Commanders QB Sam Howell's bad habits
Ron Rivera stated during the offseason that when Sam Howell makes a mistake, the quarterback doesn't make it twice. However, that's not looking like the case over the first three weeks of the 2023 season.
The Washington Commanders weren't expecting miracles from Howell right away. He's inexperienced and is getting a crash course on what it takes to succeed at the next level, which is going to result in some rocky production at stages.
This proved to be the case against the Buffalo Bills. Howell's bad habits came to the surface once again, which centered on ball security, holding onto the football for too long, and not getting off reads quickly enough.
It's all part of the learning experience where Howell is concerned. However, the Commanders need to rein these in significantly before the former fifth-round selection takes on the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field - one of the league's most intimidating atmospheres.
Howell isn't going to win a game on his own. The Commanders must do more to help their signal-caller - whether that be schematic, from a protection perspective, or the defense raising their performance levels to make things easier.
It'll be interesting to see how the North Carolina product responds to his first taste of NFL adversity. But anything less than major improvements could see things get extremely complicated for the Commanders in Week 4.