Burgundy & Gold Reaction: Complete Team Win

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October 2, 2024

by David Earl

The Offensive Line

The obvious start to any conversation about Washington’s battle against the Cardinals would be rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels‘s sensational play, but this week, the offensive line leads the discussion. Against Arizona, Daniels was not sacked and had just 1 quarterback hit while escaping pressure a few times against the Cardinals’ defense. The offensive line also powered the running game to 216 yards rushing at an average of 5.8 yards per carry, and Brian Robinson Jr. had his second 100 yard-plus rushing game of the young season. Through 3 weeks, the offensive line anchored a running game that ranked 11th in yards per attempt at 4.8, ranked 8th in rushing first down percentage, at 43.94% and tied for 1st in rushing touchdowns per game, with 2. Kliff Kingsbury has done a great job playing to the line’s strength by maintaining a slightly higher run-to-pass attack, with a 53% game plan in favor of the run. That did not change against the Cardinals, as Washington ran 37 times compared to 30 pass attempts.

Pass protection this week was much better than the previous 3 weeks; being optimistic, maybe this game will be the one in which will turn the corner. According to Pro Football Reference, Daniels’ average pocket time was 2.2 seconds per dropback through the first 3 weeks, which ranked 26th in the NFL. His mobility has helped overcome Washington’s continued pass protection deficiencies. In the first 3 weeks, Washington was the 10th-most blitzed team, at 31, but Kingsbury’s play calling utilizing Daniels’ mobility and misdirection has helped mitigate the pass rush. Daniels was hurried 7 times, ranked 11th least in the NFL, hit 4 times, ranked 7th least, and had a 19.8% pressure rate, also ranked 11th least. That continued against Arizona, as Daniels was never sacked, hit once, and completed 86.7% of his passes. While the pass protection is a work in progress, Kingsbury has done a great job in limiting their deficiencies by utilizing the run game and Daniels’ mobility off misdirection.

Defense Found Their Footing…Kind Of

Through the first 3 weeks of the season, the defense was just about as bad as one could imagine. They ranked 31st in yards per play, at 6.8, and ranked 27th in allowing 6.3 third-down conversions per game in total defensive stats. The Cardinals averaged 5.1 yards per play and converted on 4 of 11 third-down attempts. For perspective, these numbers would have placed Washington within the top 15 in the league in total defensive stats. The Cardinals still took advantage of one of the worst run defenses in the league averaging 5.7 yards per attempt while Kyler Murray completed 72.7% of his passes for a 104 quarterback rating. It was the negative plays and the third down defense that won the day. Washington’s defense had 4 sacks and 3 tackles for loss at critical moments of the game. They also got to Murray with an additional 7 quarterback hits and limited his running lanes to the tune of one carry for 3 yards. They minimized the impact of his legs and limited his yards per completion to 8.8 yards which is below Washington’s season average of 11.1 yards per completion average.

The defense may seem to be coming together in terms of pressure and cleaning up the missed tackles, but there still is plenty to work on. The Cardinals’ first drive was just too easy of a march downfield – Murray went 4 for 4 and had a touchdown pass. While Jonathan Allen had his best game of the season, with 7 combined tackles and 1 sack, the middle of the defense continues to be carved up in the running game, allowing 5.7 yards per attempt. The secondary certainly showed more discipline allowing nearly 2 yards less yards per reception but the lack of a true number 1 corner was felt early on in the game. The pressure from the defensive front against the Cardinals was certainly key to helping a secondary that struggled through the first 3 weeks. They still allowed over a  70% completion and 104 quarterback rating, which is still among the worst in the league.  If the defensive front does not get home, the secondary will certainly continue be exposed. While it was nice to see them hold the Cardinals to only 14 points, let’s not get fooled about what this defense is today. 

Is A Star Born???

Through the first 4 starts of this NFL season, Jayden Daniels has done what no other quarterback has done, which is complete over 80% of his passes (he hit 82.1%). This includes the veteran quarterbacks as well. Aside from 1 pass getting away from him for his first interception, Daniels was just near perfect yet again. His 86.7% completion against the Cardinals plus his 9 yards per completion, and a 96.3 quarterback rating are all fantastic for this young rookie. However, those numbers are not the most impressive part of Daniels’ on display yet again against the Cardinals. On 3rd and 8 Daniels was pressured to his right and was able to make an off-platform, accurate pass leading Brian Robinson Jr. in his route for a near first down. Another was on 2nd and 15, when Daniels led Luke McCaffrey in a tight window for a first down. On this particle play Daniels quickly went through his first 2 reads then saw McCaffrey coming open. His pass was out early and thrown where his receiver was going to be which show great anticipation. These are just a couple of examples we have all seen becoming a normal, routine throw for Jayden Daniels in his young career. He has shown great anticipation, such asthe touchdown to Terry McLaurin and the 2 point conversion to Zach Ertz. Each pass was being delivered before the aforementioned players broke into their routes. These are great examples of throwing wide receivers open in tight coverage.

As I respect the statements of excitement correlating it to the 2012 season with Robert Griffin III, but Daniels has just been different. Griffin had a magical year with his legs rushing for 815 yards averaging 6.8 yards per carry. As a passer, he completed 65.6% of his passes for a 104.5 quarterback rating at won the Offensive Rookie of the Year award. Beyond that, Griffin was just not the passer Jayden Daniels is today. Along with the mentioned anticipatory throws Daniels has made, he is well ahead of where a rookie quarterback after 4 career starts should be in pre-snap reads and progressions through his reads. Daniels continues to be calm under pressure and does a very good job of resetting his platform when on the run before attempting his throws. When is forced to make a throw off the platform he very rarely puts the ball in a position where the defender can make a play on the ball. The curiosity here is where he will be after the midpoint of the season, as the 80 plus completion percentage is just too unsustainable. Daniels will eventually come up against a rough stretch to some degree and how he responds, especially when defensive coordinators get more game film on him, will go a long way in determining the quarterback you will potentially be down the road.

Beyond The Team Observation: Baltimore Ravens

The Baltimore Ravens, which started 0-2 this season but won their last two games, have put on a recent offensive display that should have concerned forward. Derrick Henry has averaged a career-high 6 yards per carry average. Pair that with Lamar Jackson completing 66.7% of his passes, a .9% interception rate, a quarterback rating of 102.3, and averaging 7.5 yards per rushing attempt, and the Ravens have a complete offense. This offense is among the leaders in points per game average but it’s the defense which is still looking to find its footing. Usually one of the top units in the NFL, they find themselves middle of the road in most categories. They ranked 16th in yards per play allowed at 5.3, ranked 19th in points per game allowed at 22, and ranked 15th in allowing opposing quarterbacks 64.19% completions. If this defense regains more of what they were last year, this offense, including quarterback Lamar Jackson, running back Derrick Henry, and wide receiver Zay Flowers are certainly going to pose a great threat to Kansas City’s quest for a Super Bowl three peat. I know the Washington fans hate Baltimore, but what they have coming together right now could very well finally get Lamar Jackson to a Super Bowl. They are going to be a very interesting team to watch in the back half of this NFL season, especially in cold-weather games.