3 factors the Commanders have to execute on to secure an impressive road victory over the Chargers on Sunday
The Commanders need to execute these to beat the Chargers.
The Washington Commanders are out west preparing for the last days of practice before they take on the Los Angeles Chargers.
We’ve already seen this year that the Commanders struggle to play on the road, and this matchup might be the toughest yet for the team. Many factors have gone into these road losses, and the Commanders need to execute on three things to have any chance of securing the first win away from home.
The Chargers are a well-rounded opponent, so it’ll take a full team effort to win on Sunday, especially with so many injury concerns for the Commanders, but they can overcome that by running the ball, getting to Justin Herbert, and converting on third downs.
Kliff Kingsbury needs to commit to the run game
The Commanders are one of the top rushing offenses in the league, and have the second-most rushing yards with 619, despite being 17th in the league in rush attempts with 105. We’ve seen Bill Croskey-Merritt, Chris Rodriguez Jr, and Jeremy McNichols all break loose for big gains this season, but we have yet to see a full run game for four quarters.
Early deficits on the road don’t help the offense’s case to run the ball when you’re down double digits early, and forced to run a track meet with the defense giving up big plays, but offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury needs to realize that the big plays can come on the ground too. The Chargers are a middle-of-the-pack rush defense that allows 111 rushing yards per game, and the opportunities will be there.
Get pressure on a vulnerable Justin Herbert
The secondary has been a liability on defense for the last three weeks, and we can’t trust that anything will be changing anytime soon to fix it. The only thing we can hope for is that the pass rush on defense shows back up after disappearing last week against Michael Penix Jr, who had a career day on the Commanders. The Commanders only had eight pressures and one sack on Penix Jr last week, and that number has to go back up against Justin Herbert.
There will be plenty of opportunities for the pass rush to get home to Herbert, who has been pressured 46 times in the last two weeks, which is the most by a wide margin. Rashawn Slater has already been out for the whole season, and now Joe Alt has a high ankle sprain and is very unlikely to play. The best way to make sure Herbert doesn’t tear the secondary apart is by putting him on the ground.
The Commanders have to convert on third downs
The best way to keep Herbert off the field is by keeping Jayden Daniels and the offense on the field with long-time consuming drives. The Commanders have struggled with time of possession on the road as well, and the Falcons had the ball for nine minutes longer than Washington last week. The offense has struggled to convert on third downs all season long, despite being a good third-down defense.
Last week, the offense only converted one of eight third downs, and that’s not acceptable regardless of who is playing or injured. Daniels is coming back this week, and a steady running game should help these numbers with shorter third-down attempts, but they have to execute them at a higher rate. It will be a long game if the Commanders are going three-and-out and keep giving Herbert chances to score points.
The Commanders have yet to win a road game this season, and it’ll be a tall task to come back home with a win against Herbert and a defense that only allows 17 points per game. The best way to bounce back is by trusting the run game for four quarters, getting back to rushing the quarterback, and converting third downs at a higher rate.
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