Commanders’ riskiest offseason move helps shut down the Giants and silence the doubters in Week 1 statement
What a debut for one of the newest players on the Commanders.
The Washington Commanders started the season with a statement 21-6 win against the New York Giants, but not in the way we expected.
The offense started hot, but then looked rusty throughout the game, and it was up to the defense to make a stand, and they did it over and over again. The biggest question mark going into the season has been what exactly the Commanders’ defensive identity would be, and we got a good idea of how good it can be this year.
The defense needed to stop the run and get to Russell Wilson, and that’s exactly what they did today, led by one new addition who was a controversial signing in free agency.
A strong first impression
Talk about a statement to open the season. Javon Kinlaw showed why the Commanders gave him a three-year deal worth $45 million with $3o million in guarantees. Kinlaw finished his first game with two tackles for a loss, two run stops, two pressures, a QB hit, one hurry, and a. 86.9 run defense grade. He literally did it all for the Commanders’ defense in one of the most impressive showings by the defensive line in a long time.
The Commanders finished last season allowing the third most rushing yards, and it was a big emphasis all offseason. The first game of the season showed how improved it was, and Kinlaw was the biggest piece of the run defense on Sunday.
The Commanders let the Giants rush for 293 yards on the ground combined in the two games last season, and held them to only 74 yards on the ground on Sunday, and 44 of those came from Wilson at QB. That’s only 30 combined yards by Tyrone Tracy Jr, Cam Skattebo, and Devin Singletary. This was the biggest surprise of the entire game. That’s not just impressive, it’s dominant. The addition of Kinlaw really showed in the improvements to the run defense in just one game.
Russ couldn’t cook
Stopping the run was the most important task on Sunday, but getting to Wilson was just as important, and they didn’t disappoint. Kinlaw helped lead the way, but Daron Payne and Dorance Armstrong were also just as dominant in stopping the run and getting pressure on Wilson.
Wilson had his few splash plays with WR Malik Nabers, who is already a special player in the league, but nothing was easy for the Giants’ passing game as the Commanders brought the pressure all day. The Commanders generated 22 pressures on 45 of the dropbacks for Wilson. He had no time all day.
Armstrong took advantage of the matchup and had a career-high nine pressures on Wilson. The numbers will show only two sacks as a team, but the tape showed that the defense disrupted a majority of Wilson’s throws by making him run or pressuring his throws off target.
On a day where the offense struggled, the defense, to everyone’s surprise, came up big and helped shut down the Giants even in goal-line situations over and over again. If the defense plays like this all season, the Commanders will be right back in the playoffs again.
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