Monday, while Commanders fans were starting to look at the standings and wonder what it would take for the team to make the playoffs, Jonathan Allen was doing just the opposite.
On his weekly appearance with the “Sports Junkies” on 106.7 The Fan, Allen stated early, “Listen, one thing we can’t do is, we can’t start focusing on the playoffs.”
“There’s so much football left to be played between now and then, and we just got to take it one step at a time. There’s still a lot of things we got to clean up… We took a step in the right direction, so anytime you can get a win it’s always a positive.”
Allen talked of how the defense pretty much accomplished what they wanted to do” Sunday against the Patriots. But he did clarify that he was not pleased with the defense allowing a touchdown after the Brian Robinson fumble and the defense permitting the 64-yard touchdown run by Rhamondre Stevenson.
The game film showed the Patriots taking their turns at double-teaming Allen and Daron Payne. But when it was brought up, Allen surprisingly responded, “One thing I try really hard not to do is to count how many times I’m getting double-teamed. Because all that is doing is building in an excuse for me.”
Allen was praising his starting quarterback, Sam Howell. “He can make every throw on the field. He has a maturity to work on the area that he’s not the best at and grows as a player, and over time, he’s only going to get better.”
The defensive tackle then pointed out how Washington has been looking for a steady quarterback for several years and several seasons and has been through many quarterbacks. Allen likes how Howell is durable and can run as well.
When asked why the Commanders defense has given up so many big plays. Allen quickly pointed to the 64-yard run and how one mistake not fitting well with the design cost the Commanders a big gain by the Patriots.
Here is the link for the entire interview by the Sports Junkies.