3 things worth watching as the Washington Commanders host tough Broncos team at home, including noticeable trends
The Commanders have something to prove against the Broncos on Sunday night.
The Washington Commanders are back from their bye week off, and on the practice field, getting ready for the final six-game stretch.
The first game is a tough one at home against the No. 2 AFC seed Denver Broncos on Sunday Night Football, and the Commanders get to see if the bye week paid off. The team might be on the border of being eliminated from the playoff race, but there’s still plenty to watch for until the season ends.
The Broncos will be a big test for continuing trends in the run game, a defense that needs to show life, and a possible change in personnel.
Can the Commanders run the ball on the Broncos?
The Broncos have one of the best front sevens on defense in the league, and it shows in the run game. They’re third in the league when it comes to yards allowed on the ground and just 88 per game. The Commanders have been in a drought when it comes to running the ball, but they did get a surge against the Miami Dolphins from Chris Rodriguez Jr.
We’ve seen Rodriguez Jr. emerge as the top carrier over the last few weeks, and against the Dolphins, he was the leading rusher with 15 carries for 79 yards. Don’t be surprised if offensive Kliff Kingsbury continues to feed the hot hand against the Broncos. This is also a test for the offensive line to see if they can block Nik Bonitto, John Franklin-Myers, and Zach Allen.
Will the defense continue to look improved against a struggling Bo Nix?
The defense has been one of the biggest reasons for the Commanders’ 3-8 record this season, which led to head coach Dan Quinn finally taking over as the defensive coordinator. In his first game taking over, we saw a drastic difference in the effort and energy on defense against the Dolphins. Was it a one-week flash or something that can sustain? The Dolphins only had 16 points in an overtime game, which was the fewest the Commanders have allowed since Week 5.
Bo Nix has been a roller coaster this season, and he’s at 18 touchdowns and eight interceptions this season, with a completion percentage of only 61%. There will be opportunities for the Commanders to make plays after getting some big stops in the last game.
Will Dan Quinn continue to make personnel changes?
Quinn talked about the challenge of trying to chase the two goals of both winning and trying to develop more of the younger players for the future, and both are important. Against the Dolphins, we saw Quan Martin take his lowest snaps of the season, and Darnell Savage played more. Will Quinn make more changes this week? Drake Jackson could make his Commanders debut, and we should see more from other players, and an increase in snaps for players like Jordan Magee and Kain Medrano as well. Prepare for the offseason and the future of the roster while you still can.
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