Allen, Ioannidis, and Payne face their biggest test together Monday Night vs New Orleans

Where the Redskins once were abysmal defensively has now become a strength of the team. Washington’s defensive linemen Jonathan Allen, DaRon Payne, and Matt Ioannidis, has headlined Washington’s revamped defense to start 2018 and face their biggest test together to date.

Allen and Ioannidis were in Washington last year when the Redskins took on the New Orleans Saints; however, they were not on the field together at the time. Allen was on injured reserve leaving Ioannidis as the lone soldier. It was a bad outing for the defense, specifically in the fourth quarter as they could not withstand the New Orleans surge that eventually forced overtime and won the game. In 2018, the defensive line is healthy, and the Redskins rotation is solid.

The New Orleans Saints are not a top five rush unit like they were in 2017, but they are still top ten in yards per carry. So there is no question they can very easily run the ball at an efficient level. At the end of the day the battle up front is what will win or lose the game for Washington.

To this point, defensive coordinator Greg Manusky and defensive line coach Jim Tomsula has put the onus on the young trio to lead the rest of the group and dominate on the field. Allen and Payne to this point are averaging 72 and 71 percent of the defensive snaps respectively, Ioannidis is averaging 46 percent. The two first-round draft picks by Washington plays in base and nickel packages which allows Ioannidis to stay fresh at all times, maximizing his repititions on the field.

It is not just the rush attack that will challenge this young group; Drew Brees is still an elite quarterback who is once again amongst the league leaders in passing statistics. The Saints offense ranks seventh as a team in passing yards and sixth in yards per attempt, and Brees have been sacked just six times. The interior pass rush for the Redskins has six sacks on the year all by Allen, Ioannidis, and Payne. It is critical for the production to continue against a line that has done well to this point to keep Brees on his feet. If the Redskins can generate pressure and get sacks without having to have a high blitz percentage Monday night, the defense will have a great night against the future hall of famer Drew Brees.