The Washington Commanders spent the offseason trying to fix a problem that had been hanging over them for two seasons: the pass rush. The front office went after it hard, and the team still hasn’t gotten the kind of payoff it wanted.
Washington opened free agency by landing Chargers outside linebacker Odafe Oweh on a four-year, $100 million deal. The Commanders followed that with Patriots outside linebacker K’Lavon Chaisson on a one-year, $11 million contract and Chiefs defensive end Charles Omenihu on a one-year deal worth $4 million. Then came the draft, where Washington used a fifth-round pick on Tennessee edge rusher Joshua Josephs.
Even with that investment, the results through six games have been thin. The Commanders are 1-4-1 and have only 11 sacks.
Oweh leads the way with 3, while Chaisson has 2.5. Both have helped against the run, but Washington needs far more disruption from that group and from the rest of the defense.
That lack of pressure has shown up in other areas, too, and at times it has been part of the reason the secondary has been under stress. After the bye week, Washington gets a chance to reset quickly, with the Philadelphia Eagles coming to town Sunday night for a rematch of Week 1.
Head coach Dan Quinn said Wednesday that the defense can still take a step forward, and he pointed directly to the pass rush as a priority.
“I’m not pleased with where we’re at, but I also know there’s plenty to go,” Quinn said on Wednesday. “I’d love to see us, whether it’s blitzing, rush coverage together, really in sync with that.
It’s one of our emphases that we have, coming out of the bye: how do we improve upon that? We got some stuff Monday.
I was able to visit with that group some today. That’s an area that I love working with.
So to be involved with that was a big deal for me. How do we put guys in the right spots, do the right things?
And that was one of the topics that we spent a lot of time on.”
Philadelphia’s offensive line won’t look the same as it did in Week 1. Hall of Fame right tackle Lane Johnson retired, Cam Jurgens was traded, and injuries have also changed the picture. That could open the door for Washington’s pass rush to finally make a bigger impact.
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Brian Thomas Jr. has emerged as a name to watch because his production has dipped since a strong rookie season, and reports from Bleacher Report and ESPNs Jeremy Fowler have linked the Jacksonville wideout to trade discussion. Nothing is official yet, but the fit makes enough sense for Washington that this is the kind of rumor worth tracking closely as the Commanders sift through options. [Read more 🡒]