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Evaluating all 8 Saints sacks on Jayden Daniels
Breaking down each sack the Saints got on Daniels
Sack 1
Situation: Second quarter, 14:36 remaining, 1st & 10 on Washington 37.
Analysis: The Commanders attempt to get to a play-action shot with a lot of misdirection in the backfield. Tight end John Bates sifts back across the line at the snap while receiver Jamison Crowder uses his tight alignment to loop around the back of Jayden Daniels in what’s often known as a ghost or orbit motion. This is all misdirection to grab the attention of the defense while Terry McLaurin runs a deep corner-post route and Dyami Brown runs a high cross underneath it.
Off the snap, the Saints drop to a peculiar coverage with both deep safeties working towards the middle of the field. I think this surprised Daniels and made him believe he might be able to trigger the deep shot to McLaurin. However, one of the safeties was able to get back on top of him before it was too late. Meanwhile, the other safety read the high cross from Brown and cut it off well, taking away both of the deeper threats on this play. At this point, Daniels should just work to his checkdown in the flat. He does do that, but he works to the wrong side. He goes to his right, where running back Brian Robinson drifted too after the run fake. He starts his throwing motion to Robinson but spots a defender triggering quickly and opts against it. However, had Daniels looked to his left instead of right, he would have found Crowder in acres of space with no defender within 20 yards of him.
Daniels never spots Crowder and after passing up on Robinson, he attempts to scramble. He steps up in the pocket to try and avoid two rushers nearby, but ends up running into the arms of Chase Young, who brings him down for a four-yard loss.
Conclusion: This one is on Daniels. He had plenty of time to sit in the pocket and find a throw. Crowder was wide open in the flat the entire time but Daniels never once looked at him. It should have been a pretty big gain with Crowder having so much room to run after the catch, but Daniels never saw him and ended up taking a completely unnecessary sack.
Sack 2
Situation: Second quarter, 12:59 remaining, 3rd & 16 on Washington 31.
The Commanders have typically kept two players in to chip on these types of situations this season to provide help to both tackles, but here they only chip the right side.
That immediately comes back to bite them as Brandon Coleman loses quickly on the left side against Chase Young. Coleman attempts to use his favorite hand flash technique, but Young has done his homework and knows it’s coming. He waits for the hand flash and then as Coleman attempts to raise his hand back up, Young chops it down to give him a path to the edge. As Daniels hits his fifth step, he’s immediately having to try and climb the pocket as Young is closing in on him quickly.
Now, you could make an argument here that If Daniels just takes one quick hitch step to avoid Young and then throws his checkdown underneath to Robinson, he would avoid the sack. That is true, but it’s also third and 16 and Daniels knows a checkdown underneath isn’t likely to pick up a first down. So instead of just checking it down, he attempts to go off-script and scramble. Unfortunately, after stepping up in the pocket, center Michael Deiter and left guard Nick Allegretti lose control of their blocks and Daniels is brought down before he can fully escape the pocket.
Conclusion: While technically, Daniels could have made a pass to avoid this sack, he knew it was highly unlikely to lead to a first down and they would have had to have punted anyway. So I don’t blame Daniels for trying to scramble here. This one is on the offensive line for me.
Washington Post (paywall)
Commanders-Falcons Week 17 game flexed to ‘Sunday Night Football’
The Dec. 29 matchup figures to have serious playoff implications.
The Washington Commanders will host the Atlanta Falcons on Dec. 29 in prime time. The Week 17 game — which could have major wild-card implications in the NFC — was flexed to NBC’s “Sunday Night Football,” the NFL announced Tuesday.
It will be the Commanders’ first appearance on “Sunday Night Football” this season. Rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels had been in line to square off with the Falcons’ Kirk Cousins until Atlanta announced Tuesday night that Michael Penix Jr. will be its starting quarterback moving forward. Cousins spent the first six years of his career with Washington and had been 2-0 in matchups with the team since departing after the 2017 season.
Regardless of the quarterback matchup, the NFL is betting the game will have high stakes. This weekend, Washington (9-5) hosts the Philadelphia Eagles (12-2), while Atlanta (7-7) hosts the New York Giants (2-12). If the Commanders lose and the Falcons win — which oddsmakers expect — then the Week 17 game could help determine which team holds the No. 7 seed. (Washington and Atlanta don’t play in the same division, so the tiebreaker is head-to-head record.)
The Athletic (paywall)
Commanders a step closer to potential RFK return with congressional funding bill
Recent negotiations on Capitol Hill led to Congress including measures relating to the control of the RFK site in a stopgap funding bill released Tuesday evening. If the bill passes — a strong likelihood as funding the federal government through mid-March is the primary agenda — the District of Columbia government would gain control of the roughly 170-acre campus that previously served as the NFL franchise’s home.
As part of the negotiations allowing the RFK site’s inclusion in the continuing resolution, the District agreed to give its F-16 fighter jets from its National Guard to Maryland. In addition, Congress will fund the reconstruction of the Frances Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore. The organization and Harris, a D.C.-area native and lifelong fan of the franchise, formally agreed to participate in the redevelopment of the current stadium property should the franchise leave the state.
ESPN
Site provision in federal bill may spur Commanders’ return to D.C.
The franchise played at RFK Stadium from 1961-96 and was known for having one of the best home-field advantages — excited fans could even make one section of the stands bounce.
The site carries great sentimental value because it’s where Washington played during its Super Bowl appearances from 1982-91, winning three titles. The organization also reached the Super Bowl after the 1972 season.
Commanders owner Josh Harris and NFL commissioner Roger Goodell recently lobbied lawmakers on Capitol Hill over the bill, called the D.C. Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium Campus Revitalization Act. It was introduced by Rep. James Comer (R-Ky).
Multiple team sources said as little as a year ago the likelihood of returning to the RFK site were less than 30 percent. Though hurdles remain, those odds have increased — and perhaps more than doubled — and it has become a two-locale race, with their current home in Landover as the other option. Maryland continues to make a strong push to retain the Commanders.
The Commanders own the land in Maryland but have a contract to play there until early in the 2027 season, though it can be renewed to extend the stay. Harris has said he’d like to open a new stadium in 2030. Harris and multiple co-owners in his group grew up a fan of the team and has said how much RFK Stadium meant to him.
“It needs to happen and like soon,” Bowser told ESPN in an interview earlier this month about a stadium resolution. “We’re very anxious to get that land into productive use.”
The Athletic (paywall)
Marshon Lattimore’s target-free Commanders debut spoke volumes about his impact
Besides his first and last name, Lattimore didn’t appear in the stats or play-by-play recap. That’s very different than discussing the cornerback’s level of impact in his first game with his new team.
“Through my experience, when there’s less attention going to you, that is a sign that you’ve had a really good game,” defensive-minded coach Dan Quinn said of Lattimore’s showing on Monday’s video call.
Despite sitting out six weeks — five games — since his last appearance due to a lingering hamstring injury, Washington had no concerns about stamina. Lattimore played 53 of the defense’s 55 snaps. The Commanders’ dominating time of possession (41 to 19 minutes) offered plenty of in-game rest.
According to Pro Football Focus, 47 cornerbacks were on the field for at least 32 pass plays in Week 15. All of them had at least one target come their way, except Lattimore.
As for where Lattimore lined up, all 53 snaps were on the right side — 51 far right — which is how the Saints deployed him in recent years.
Having the cover corner available altered the typical rotation. Washington made Michael Davis inactive for the first time this season. Benjamin St-Juste, a starter for most of his four seasons, played only three snaps.
Mike Sainristil’s evolution from slot corner to outside presence continued. The second-round rookie had an interception and two pass breakups while playing 50 defensive snaps. Sainristil played 46 of 47 wide corner snaps on the left.
With teams shying away from Lattimore, “there’s some more production to another player,” Quinn said. “Mike had a good PBU and an interception.”
Quinn’s 2022 Dallas defense, the last Cowboys campaign not impacted significantly with injuries, played Cover 3 on 42.3 percent of defensive snaps, per TruMedia, sixth most in the league. These Commanders clocked in at 37.2 percent through 13 games this season. However, using the scheme where three defenders are deep and four cover underneath is rising. Washington went Cover 3 on 54.9 percent of snaps against the Saints, the third time over 50 percent in the past five games.
Whatever the scheme, Washington’s defense has become the team’s better unit. Since Week 7, the Commanders rank third in total yards (297.6) and passing yards allowed (169.6), ninth in opposing QB rating (86.8) and 11th in third-down defense (37.4 percent).
Commanders Wire
Does Commanders’ roster move indicate Zach Ertz will be unavailable vs. Eagles?
Adam Peters wasted no time replacing Allen’s spot on the practice squad, signing tight end Tyree Jackson.
The 27-year-old, 6-foot-7, 250-pound Jackson played collegiately at Buffalo and entered the NFL as an undrafted free agent in 2019. The Bills waived Jackson during final cuts, and he was selected in the XFL draft in October 2019. In 2020, he served as Cardale Jones’ backup for the D.C. Defenders until the league suspended operations.
He signed with the Eagles in 2021 and transitioned to tight end. After two years with the Eagles, he was waived and the Giants signed him to the practice squad.
While Jackson was signed to the practice squad, the Commanders could elevate him to the 53-man roster before Sunday’s game against the Eagles. Why? Starting tight end Zach Ertz suffered a concussion in Sunday’s win over the Saints. That means Ertz will remain in the NFL’s concussion protocol until cleared.
Upcoming opponent
The Ringer
Philadelphia Eagles: Is the passing game fixed?
I don’t remember a team in recent memory that flipped between “potentially dysfunctional” and “definite Super Bowl contender” as quickly or as often as the 2024 Eagles. A quick timeline of the past two weeks:
December 1: The Eagles beat the Ravens in Baltimore for their eighth straight victory and look like one of the NFL’s best teams.
December 8: The Eagles beat the Panthers in an ugly game where Jalen Hurts plays poorly and the offense produces just 83 net passing yards. After the game, star wide receiver A.J. Brown explains that “passing” is the area of the offense that needs to be fixed.
December 9: Veteran defensive end Brandon Graham goes on local radio and says Hurts and Brown were friends before, but things have changed. Graham would go on to apologize.
December 11: Brown says that Graham “misspoke,” and Hurts and Brown attempt to defuse the situation, saying they are good.
December 15: Hurts completes 25 of 32 passes for 290 yards and two touchdowns, and Brown catches eight passes for 110 yards in a convincing win against the Steelers. The duo performs a touchdown celebration inspired by Kid ’n Play. The Eagles tie the Lions for the best record in the NFC, at 12-2.
THAT ALL HAPPENED IN THE SPAN OF TWO WEEKS!
The truth is that the Eagles passing game has been an issue throughout this season, and it’s hard to get to the Super Bowl without being efficient through the air. Among the 20 teams to make the conference championship game in the past five seasons, 18 of them (90 percent) have had a passing offense that ranked in the top quartile (DVOA). The Eagles currently rank 15th, but Sunday’s game against Pittsburgh was a big step in the right direction. Against the best defense he’ll face this year, Hurts found a rhythm early, completing 12 of his first 13 passes for 146 yards. Overall, it was an 85th-percentile game in terms of dropback success rate.
Now the question is whether the Eagles can repeat that type of performance down the stretch and in the playoffs. The defense is Super Bowl caliber. The offensive line is elite. And Saquon Barkley is Saquon Barkley. But ultimately, the efficiency of the passing game will determine this team’s ceiling.
Podcasts & videos
Commanders vs Eagles Week 16 Preview | Jay Gruden
Episode 975 – Is this Year 1 of a long run for Jayden Daniels-Terry McLaurin as an elite QB-WR combo? I discuss that & much more off #WASvsNO:
– how JD5 played well even with the 8 sacks
– key playing-time observations
– Jon Allen coming back this season?https://t.co/5hKdQ9zlWy— Al Galdi (@AlGaldi) December 17, 2024