Frankie Luvu is giving the Commanders exactly what they need at the right time, and that could make life miserable for Matthew Stafford in Week 9.
Washington’s defense has started to lean hard into Daronte Jones’ blitz-heavy approach, and Luvu has become the centerpiece of it. After looking like himself again in the win over the Philadelphia Eagles last week, the inside linebacker is positioned to be a major part of the plan against the Los Angeles Rams at Northwest Stadium.
Jones let it fly against Philadelphia, and the Commanders’ pressure package buried backup quarterback Tanner McKee. Luvu was right in the middle of it, blitzing eight times. He didn’t record a sack, but he helped create the kind of chaos that opened the door for others, including edge rushers K’Lavon Chaisson and Odafe Oweh, both of whom finished with sacks.
That performance fit a clear trend for Luvu since he returned to the lineup against the Indianapolis Colts in London in Week 4. Since then, he has blitzed 32 times, giving Jones a reliable weapon to attack from different angles.
The numbers from the Eagles game only sharpen the picture. Washington forced a 57.1 percent pressure rate, which was 18% above league average, according to Stats & Scheme newsletter writer Tej Seth and SūmerSports.
ESPN’s John Keim, citing Next Gen Stats, noted that the Commanders “generated a season-high pressure percentage of 46.5 vs. the Eagles. On 12 blitzes, they recorded 10 pressures and a sack -- the 83.3 percent rate was the 2nd highest by any D this season (minimum 5 blitzes),” per ESPN’s John Keim, citing Next Gen Stats.
Keim also pointed out how effective Washington was even when it didn’t need to blitz to get home. That matters, because offenses are increasingly built to handle pressure looks from all directions.
Leave too few blockers in protection, and the Commanders can overwhelm you with late pressure. Add more bodies to block, and you take receivers out of the route structure and weaken the passing game before the ball is even snapped.
That’s the exact kind of defense Washington wanted when it brought in Jones from Brian Flores’ staff with the Minnesota Vikings, and it’s starting to show up on tape and in the numbers.
Stafford is the next quarterback staring at that problem. Through eight games, he’s been blitzed 77 times and faced 50 pressures. The 38-year-old has averaged just 2.2 seconds of pocket time to throw and has already made 42 pressured throws, per Player Profiler.
Everything points toward another week of Jones leaning into the blitz, with Luvu at the center of it. If Washington is going to make Stafford uncomfortable, Luvu’s name figures to be all over the plan.
In Other News...
Commanders Center Problem Has Become Impossible To Ignore
After the loss to the Rams dropped Washington to 2-5-1, the offensive line again became impossible to separate from the bigger story of how this season has gone. The center position, in particular, has turned into a weekly source of instability, and it is hard to ignore how much of that traces back to the offseason decision-making that left the Commanders leaning on Nick Allegretti after moving on from Tyler Biadasz.
The issue is not just one bad Sunday, either. Injuries have already forced the Commanders to keep adjusting in the middle of the line, and the result has been a unit that never seems to settle into a rhythm. For a team trying to build around a young offense, the center spot has become one of the clearest reminders that the margin for error is shrinking fast. [Read more 🡒]
Commanders Nearly Flipped Last Rams Meeting But The Result Still Stung
The last time Washington saw the Rams, the game had the feel of a blowout before the Commanders made it interesting late. At SoFi Stadium in Week 15, Los Angeles controlled most of the afternoon and carried a 28-7 lead into the stretch, only for Washington to find some life behind Jacoby Brissett and a pair of late touchdown passes.
Even with the rally, the Commanders never fully erased the damage from the earlier mistakes and missed chances that put them in the hole. Los Angeles still walked away with a 28-20 win after closing out the final moments, leaving Washington with the kind of near-miss that lingers because it was close enough to wonder what might have changed with one cleaner finish. [Read more 🡒]
Commanders Left Tackle Problem Is Becoming Impossible To Ignore
When Laremy Tunsil went down with a torn triceps in training camp, the Commanders had to reshuffle quickly and hand Brandon Coleman the blindside tackle job. It was always going to be a difficult ask, but the recent game against the Rams made the adjustment look even more precarious, with Colemans struggles putting a spotlight on a position the team can hardly afford to get wrong.
The bigger problem is the lack of easy answers behind him. Washington does not have much depth at left tackle, so every rough outing only sharpens the internal debate about how to stabilize the spot before it becomes a season-long issue. For now, the Commanders are left weighing whether to ride it out or make a move from outside the starting five. [Read more 🡒]