When you lose to a team you were favored to beat by two scores, there aren’t a lot of good things to discuss. That’s true for the Washington Commanders, who fell to the New York Giants 31-19 in Week 11. Washington turned the ball over six times in defeat despite nine sacks.
Speaking of those nine sacks, rookie defensive end K.J. Henry played a career-high 37 snaps and took advantage of the opportunity. Henry finished with four tackles, including one for loss and 1.5 sacks. Henry also defended two passes. Pro Football Focus credited him with three QB pressures and gave him a 78.3 overall grade for his performance.
Henry was one of PFF’s top rookies from Week 11, finishing with the seventh-highest grade of the week.
Highest graded NFL rookies from Week 11⭐️ pic.twitter.com/twYI6JDUfX
— PFF College (@PFF_College) November 21, 2023
Henry’s play also earned the praise of head coach Ron Rivera.
“I mean, if you really want to talk about some guys that played well yesterday, got to give kudos to K.J. Henry,” Rivera said Monday. “He got an opportunity to come out. He played very well. He rushed the passer; he played the run, did a couple [of] real smart things, things that really stood out to us as coaches, and just really thought, here’s a young guy that’s taken advantage of his chances to get on the football field and play.”
Henry has a massive opportunity in front of him over the final six games. With Washington’s sudden lack of depth at defensive end after trading Chase Young and Montez Sweat, he could play himself into a permanent starting role next season with a strong finish.