Outside Jonathan Allen and Daron Payne, the Washington Commanders' defensive line was a major question mark coming into the 2024 season. Even with the additions of Dorance Armstrong, Clelin Ferrell, Dante Fowler Jr., and Jamin Davis' transition to defensive end.
Sure, all of those guys are talented guys who have produced in the NFL, to an extent. However, none of them are top-tier pass rushers that demand the attention of opposing offensive lines the way Allen and Payne do. Therefore, many were wondering just how effective the unit would become by season's end.
Through the first three weeks of the season, said questions became even bigger as the pass rush slogged its way through games. The unit pressured Baker Mayfield a lot in Week 1, but couldn't finish and the end result was multiple scrambles that helped hand the Commanders their first - and only - loss of the season. The next two games were unimpressive, to say the least, when talking about the pass rush and the numbers reflected such.
Per Next Gen Stats, the Commanders' pass rush averaged a 26% pressure rate (26 total pressures) and a measly 4% sack rate (4.0 total sacks) through the first three games. The pressure rate was above the NFL's current average rate of 23.8%, but the sack rate was well below the average 8.0%. Overall, there wasn't much to write home when talking about the front four and whomever Dan Quinn and Joe Whitt Jr. decided to send on a blitz.
That's changed over the last two weeks, though, and in a big way. The Commanders have pressured opposing signal-callers on 43.5% of pass attempts (27 total pressures) and said signal-callers have been sacked at a 17.7% rate (11.0 total sacks). The sack number is more than double the league average and the pressure rate is nearly there, itself.
It's been quite the turnaround and Quinn explained the situation via his vantage point when he spoke with reporters after the Commanders' 34-13 win over the Cleveland Browns on Sunday.
"I think the guys also played better on first downs, you know, to create some longer-yardage scenarios," said Quinn. "Those ones that are the smaller ones, the threes and fours, where it's [a] quick game to go. So, to create some long-yardage scenarios, that's a big deal. I was pleased to see the big guys inside in the run game staying square and playing blocks. What it does is create advantages [where] you have to call a third down where he has some longer ones, that was a big deal...
"... [During] the early part of the year, we weren't able to do that. We had gotten some pressure and didn't finish - Tampa comes to mind. And so to see them work on that and finishing, it's a big deal."
From Weeks 1-3, the Commanders averaged a 24.4% pressure rate and a 7.3% sack rate that represented 10 total pressures and 3.0 sacks over the course of 41 first down pass attempts. The defense also gave up five passing touchdowns during that span.
Over the last two weeks, the team has averaged a 33.0% pressure rate and a 9% sack rate in the form of six total pressures and 2.0 sacks on 18 first down pass attempts. The defense has given up zero passing touchdowns, as well.
"I mean, 'JA' [Jonathan Allen] and Payne [Daron Payne], you know, they're top dogs, man," Commanders linebacker Frankie Luvu said after beating the Browns. "For them to do what they do, taking double teams, and for us to just play freely, me and Bobby [Wagner], you know, [to] back them up and be erasers - I mean, it's fun. But at the end of the day, man, the credit goes to them. Because everything kind of connects with each other. We can't do our job without them being up front and being dogs."
Everyone knows how a good pass rush can beat the best of offenses in this league. What's key, here, is the Commanders already have an elite interior pass rushing duo in Allen and Payne, which is becoming more and more important, these days.
So, if the guys around them on the edges can keep trending up -Armstrong has 2.5 sacks, Luvu has 3.0 sacks (yes, I know he plays linebacker), and Fowler has 1.0 sack over the last two weeks- then one better believe the Commanders will keep winning at a high rate as they march through the remaining 12 games of the season.
