There are 4 obvious reasons why the Commanders beat the Browns and they have Washington looking like a playoff team
NFL games aren't supposed to go down the way the Washington Commanders-Cleveland Browns matchup went down on Sunday, but hey, here we are.And here are the 4-1 Commanders after what was easily their most dominant win of the season. Washington made Cleveland look like a JUCO squad in all three phases en route to a […]
NFL games aren't supposed to go down the way the Washington Commanders-Cleveland Browns matchup went down on Sunday, but hey, here we are.
And here are the 4-1 Commanders after what was easily their most dominant win of the season. Washington made Cleveland look like a JUCO squad in all three phases en route to a 34-13 win in Week 5.
Sure, Cleveland has had its fair share of struggles so far this year, but it's still hard to pull off this kind of win. It's called a "field goal league", for a reason.
So, without further ado, let's dive into the four obvious reasons why the Commanders beat the Browns and why said reasons have Jayden Daniels and co. looking like playoff contenders.
Commanders defense looks like a top-5 unit against Deshaun Watson and the Browns offense
Man, Cleveland's offensive struggles have been well documented this year, but holy crap the Commanders straight-up shut down Watson and co. on Sunday.
The defense put on an absolute clinic in the first half. Excluding the Browns' last possession of the first half, the Commanders held the offense to nearly twice as many three-and-outs (5) than it had points (3). The Browns went 0-for-8 on third down and they managed to amass 68 total net yards on 29 plays for an average of 2.8 yards per play during the first 30 minutes of the game.
Watson was sacked three times and the Browns punted the ball on six out of seven possessions, again, excluding the final first half possession.
Things continued into the second half, as well. The defense was immediately put in a bad spot after Terry McLaurin's fumble on the first play of the third quarter, but a Dorance Armstrong on 1st and goal and excellent secondary play (outside the Jerry Jeudy drop on 2nd and goal) held the Browns to a field goal instead of what could have easily been a touchdown.
Before the Browns' garbage-time touchdown, which was their first of the game, the offense had allowed more sacks (7) than it had scored points and it had punted the ball more times (7) than it had scored points. And, it had more penalties (9) than it had points.
Overall, the defense allowed 13 points, 12 first downs, a 1-for-13 third down rate, 212 total net yards and 3.6 yards per play. The unit forced a takeaway, seven punts, and recorded 7.0 sacks, 11 QB hits, and seven tackles for loss.
Coming into the game, the Commanders defense was easily the biggest question on the team, despite the improvement we saw against the Arizona Cardinals in Week 4. Well, after back-to-back, lights-out performances, I think it's safe to say this unit will be a lot better than everyone thought after the preseason/Week 1 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Jayden Daniels continues his torrid pace as the best rookie quarterback in the NFL
What is there to say, anymore? Sure, Daniels didn't complete his typical 80% of pass attempts in this game. As a matter of fact, he didn't even complete 60% of his passes after going 14-of-25 in the game.
That didn't matter, though, as he was just as explosive as he's been all year long. So much so, veteran backup Marcus Mariota entered the game with a little under 13 minutes left in the fourth quarter.
He completed the aforementioned 56% of his passes for 238-yards and one touchdown and one interception. He also led the team in rushing with 82-yards on 11 carries. He converted several key third and fourth downs using his arms and legs, most notably the 66-yard bomb to Terry McLaurin on a 3rd and 13 and a six-yard scramble on a 4th and 3 later in the game.
And of course, he set another NFL record along the way.
Daniels is the real deal and he still has 12 more games to show why he's the leader for Offensive Rookie of the Year and why he should at least be in the conversation for league MVP.
Commanders offensive line completely shut down Myles Garrett
The Commanders did such a good job of containing Garrett that he literally didn't even show up on the stat sheet.
That's right, not even an assisted tackle was credited to him. I don't have the exact numbers, but I think it's very safe to say that does not happen, hardly at all. If it's even happened, ever.
To add even more emphasis to how big a deal this is, Browns guard Joel Bitonio finished the game with more tackles than Garrett. That's right – an offensive lineman.
That's all that needs to be said, here. Kliff Kingsbury had a plan and the Commanders offensive line executed it perfectly.
Commanders' run game continues to flex itself as one of the NFL's best
Including Daniels' runs and scrambles, the Commanders' run game finished the first half with 18 carries for 126 yards and two touchdowns, good for 7.0 yards per carry. The ground game remained impressive even when deducting Daniels' eight carries for 48 yards, totaling 78 rushing yards on 10 carries. 50 of those came off an Austin Ekeler run that helped the Commanders push their lead to 10-3.
For the day, the Commanders finished with 215 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns on 34 carries, which is good for 6.3 yards per carry. The offense recorded three runs of 28+ yards and three players finished with 44 or more rushing yards. It's a diverse attack that's been humming since the preseason, pretty much, and it's a major strength that also helps set the tone for the offense, as a whole.
Winning on both sides of the trenches is paramount to winning in November, December, and the playoffs. If the Commanders' run game can keep doing what it's been doing over the course of the season and if the Commanders' pass rush/front seven can keep improving and making plays, then this team is going to be in excellent shape, moving forward.
Final word
The Commanders have won four straight games and their last two wins have come at a combined score of 76-27. Daniels is the real deal, the defense is improving, and the special teams unit is doing its job.
Those facts, including the one that Washington had the seventh-easiest remaining strength of schedule entering Week 5, are the exact reasons why the playoffs are a realistic possibility heading into Week 6 and beyond.
