The Washington Commanders' turnaround in 2024 is hard to rival. After years of mediocrity and not living up to the standard, the front office got to work this offseason with fantastic coaching hires that put together a great roster. Reaching the NFC Championship game for the first time in 30 years is a success of its own and has now laid the groundwork for what is to come in the DMV area.
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Much of Washington's success this season can be attributed to how well the offense was able to perform under offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury and rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels. However, the defense should also be shown some love after struggling early on before finding a groove late in the season.
Despite the defense's improvement this season, they did struggle when it came to stopping the run which ultimately meant that players at the second and third level of the defense had to make up for it by being sure tacklers to prevent explosive plays from happening. With that, it meant that the Commanders' defenders would have higher tackling totals than most and according to NFL.com, Washington was the eighth-most efficient team at tackling in 2024 with a grade of 86.8 (B+) - slotting them between the Green Bay Packers and Minnesota Vikings.
"Dan Quinn led the league's greatest turnaround in Washington this season, and one factor was his development of a disciplined tackling unit that improved from 22nd in the NFL in efficiency to fifth this year. The Commanders' playoff campaign was keyed by a raft of veteran acquisitions, including Bobby Wagner and Jeremy Chinn, who were as impressive as anyone; they were two of four players in the league to convert over 100 tackles on an efficiency rate of 93% or better. Both cornerstones were on one-year deals, and Washington might need to pay up to retain them."
Tackling isn't the most thought of statistic when it comes to measuring a team's success, but in this instance, it does show that when offensive players went up against the Commanders' defense they weren't getting by with very many missed tackles or opportunities for big plays. With veterans like Wagner and Chinn leading the way for the Commanders, it will be imperative for them to be able to replicate that production if both, or either, decide to leave this offseason.
The improvement was a shocking one, but it likely shouldn't be viewed that way as head coach Dan Quinn is one of the most respected defensive coaches in the league. Quinn knows how to get the most out of his defense and will be tasked with restructuring it once again this offseason as they look to cement themselves as true Super Bowl contenders.
