The Commanders’ defense has a chance to make a statement against one of the best in the league after getting embarrassed last week
The Commanders will show if they bounce back, or break on defense.
One of the hardest things to watch with the Washington Commanders’ loss against the Green Bay Packers was how shaky the defense looked after an impressive performance just the week before.
The Commanders can’t afford to have the same showing as they did last week, or it could be a long day, and keep the Las Vegas Raiders in the game for way too long. The defense allowed too many big plays, especially to tight end Tucker Kraft. Now you have Brock Bowers coming to town, and you have the opportunity to make a statement or be criticized even more.
Bowers is a game-changer
Bowers took the league by storm, broke records, and was voted as the best tight end in the league by his peers in the NFL top-100 list. The first-round pick earned First Team All-Pro honors as a rookie and finished his first season with 112 catches for 1,194 yards. The Commanders allowed 124 yards and a touchdown to Kraft last week, and Bowers is a step up from him.
This is a true test of how the defense responds after getting embarrassed on primetime television. Defensive coordinator Joe Whitt Jr. spoke on the upcoming matchup and why defending Bowers is so difficult.
“It does make it challenging because the way they use him,” Whitt said. “Certain times he could be in 12 personnel, and they’ll put him in line as a 12. So, if you put nickel out there, you’re going to be a little small, but there are times they’ll put 12 personnel out there, and they’re going to put him as a receiver, and you don’t want him matched up on certain linebackers in cases. So, that’s where the difficulty of it is. Now, we just have to make sure that we’re in calls and positions that are beneficial to the location of his that he aligns in each case. If he’s in the line, alright, we’re sound there in the run game. If he’s outside, we can help him in the pass game.”
Limit the Raiders’ passing game
We already know the Raiders have the worst rushing offense in the league, and the Los Angeles Chargers showed what happens when you limit Bowers. On Monday night, Bowers was working back from a knee injury and was held to five catches for only 38 yards on eight targets. He might not be 100% health-wise to be able to stretch the deep field like he usually does, but you can’t underestimate his abilities.
Geno Smith was held to only 180 passing yards on 42 attempts, and had three interceptions and zero touchdowns to show for. The Commanders need to do the same thing by limiting Bowers and forcing Smith to spread the ball more than he’s comfortable with to Jakobi Meyers, Dont’e Thornton Jr, and Tre Tucker.
There are going to be a lot of questions about the defense if the Commanders allow Bowers to heat up and give Smith a bounce-back performance, even if they win the game. The expectations were high going into the season, especially on defense, and this is the perfect opportunity to make a statement against arguably the best tight end in the league right now.
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