Tag: DE KJ Henry

When they last met: Commanders vs. Giants

Their last meeting was a weird game.

“When they last met” is an ongoing series during the NFL season, recalling the preceding game between Washington and the next opponent on the Commanders’ schedule.

NY Giants 31, Washington Commanders 19 – Week 11, Nov. 19, 2023

In what was one of the most frustrating games of the 2023 season, the Commanders were at home and yet lost to the New York Giants 31-19 at the then-FedEx Field.

The Giants came into the game a woeful 2-8, while Washington was 4-6, having just lost a heartbreaker the previous week in Seattle (29-26). How bad were the Giants? The oddsmakers had the Commanders a 9-point favorite!

In a game you could not have scripted more bizarrely, the Commanders lost the turnover margin 6-0. The Commanders defense sacked the Giants’ backup quarterback Tommy DeVito nine times, yet they still lost the game.

Adding to the strangeness, when DeVito did not have to pick himself off of the FedEx turf on his nine times sacked, he picked apart the Commanders’ defense, completing for 246 yards, three touchdowns, and no interceptions for a remarkable 137.7 passer rating.

For DeVito, it was feast or famine, no in between. He could be sacked or pick apart the defense. Though Washington had the ball 34:51 to 25:09, DeVito simply didn’t require much time. He completed four passes to Darius Slayton and Saquon Barkley for 82 and 57 yards, respectively.

On the other hand, Washington’s Sam Howell completed 31 of 45 for 256 yards, one touchdown but also three interceptions. Also, being sacked four times, Howell’s passer rating was only 62.8.  If this wasn’t enough, Chris Rodriguez, Logan Thomas, and Byron Pringle all had lost fumbles. Adding more salt to the wound, Isaiah Simmons intercepted a Howell pass, returning it 54 yards for a touchdown.

The Commanders never once led in the game, trailing in the first half by as much as 14-3. With 2:20 remaining in the game, Howell connected with Jahan Dotson from 8 yards, bringing the Commanders to within five points at 24-19.

However, when the Commanders regained possession at the last minute, Simmons intercepted Howell, returning it for a touchdown and sealing a 12-point Giants’ win over Washington 31-19.

The Commanders who contributed quarterback sacks toward the huge 9-sack day were: David Mayo (2.0), Jonathan Allen (1.5), KJ Henry (1.5), while Jamin Davis, Daron Payne, Benjamin St-Juste and Casey Toohill all collected one QB sack.

First-half observations from Commanders vs Patriots’ final preseason game

Five thought on the first half.

The Washington Commanders hosted the New England Patriots on Sunday in their third and final preseason game. Here are some observations from the first half of the Commanders’ game against the Patriots.

  1. Jeff Driskel played the entire first half, completing 12 of his 18 attempts for 73 yards. He did have a bad interception, where he stared down his receiver and threw directly into coverage, which he never saw.
  2. Cole Turner had another pass go off his hands, and it was intercepted by the Patriots’ Joe Giles-Harris. This is Turner’s third season, and it has not been impressive in the last two weeks. We will see if Colton Yankoff gets that fourth tight end spot on the roster.
  3. I’m not sure about Noah Igbinoghene. Early on, I thought he would surely make the roster, but he missed two tackles in the first half.
  4. Armani Taylor-Prioleau is trying to make the roster at offensive tackle. But one play sticking in my mind is when he was taken and pushed all the way back to Driskel, forcing Driskel to abandon passing the ball and stepping up and being tackled at the line of scrimmage.
  5. KJ Henry was completely unblocked when he nailed Jacoby Brissett, appearing to cause Brissett shoulder pain. Henry had good penetration on two other plays, disturbing the Patriots’ offense.

Several Commanders defenders must stand out vs. Dolphins

Some defensive players who need to stand out against the Dolphins.

It’s not too complicated; who was the worst defense in the NFL last season?

For starters, the Commanders gave up the most in the entire league, surrendering 518 points.

If that is not enough, the Commanders surrendered 6,612 yards, and the closest to Washington was the Bengals, with 6,368. Imagine giving up 5.9 yards every play, and that’s just what the Commanders did, second only to the Bengals, who surrendered 6.0.

The passing defense was so bad that it gave up 4,447 passing yards (dead last) and 39 passing touchdowns, again, dead last.

Saturday against the Dolphins, some returning players are going to need to stand up and frankly show they want to make the 53-man roster. So, let’s start by looking up front at who needs to make a good impression.

Defensive tackle Phidarian Mathis was a second-round Ron Rivera selection (2022), and he needs some good tape soon. Returning ends KJ Henry and Andre Jones, chosen by Rivera in 2023, need to make some plays if they are to convince coaches not to replace them.

Not to be overlooked is defensive end Clelin Ferrell. He was not drafted by Rivera but signed by Adam Peters as a free agent. Amazingly, the Raiders selected him 4th overall in 2019. Yet, he only received a one-year deal from the Commanders that no one else was looking to better. Ferrell needs to show Dan Quinn and Peters he can play effectively, producing a pass rush on the edge.

Then there is Jamin Davis. He is going to see time again at defensive end. Davis made some nice plays against the run while also giving up a big run of 20 yards. He has also been working with assistant coach Ryan Kerrigan, attempting to learn and develop some pass-rushing moves.

Peters said he had a lot of work to do when he took the job, rebuilding the roster. It’s up to these players to step up and keep their jobs and their place in the NFL.

 

Del Rio defends Commanders tackles Allen and Payne

Del Rio makes it clear: Allen and Payne are playing well.

Jack Del Rio took exception Thursday to two of his players being called out publicly this week.

ESPN’s Seth Walder this week had tweeted, stating that Commanders defensive tackles Jonathan Allen and Daron Payne are producing less pass rush in 2023 than in 2022.

Walder revealed some numbers to back his claim. Allen had ranked 9th and Payne 12th in 2022 in “pass rush win rate.”

He then conveyed that through ten games this season, Allen is now 26th and Payne 42nd out of 52 qualifying defensive tackles.

Consequently, when Del Rio was asked about this by the Washington media Thursday, he responded, “I don’t like to sit up here and grade for you guys. They’re two really good players, and they’re playing well.”

Then Del Rio was challenged when one asked where Allen and Payne were making their impact, despite their pass rush win rate” being down from last season.

Del Rio threw out his own challenge, “I’ll watch tape with you if you’d like. They’re pretty good players, and they’re having a good strong year for us.”

Later, Del Rio was asked about how defensive tackle John Ridgeway has played. “Ridge? I think Ridge has played very well the last few weeks in particular.”

Then came a question regarding rookie defensive end Andre Jones Jr. and his pass rush.

“He’s been very aware and has done a nice job with it. I’m looking forward to watching these guys play, and (DE) KJ (Henry) was so close to getting his first sack two weeks ago. As they get opportunities to play, they’re going to make plays, and it’s not all going to be good. But we ask them to go out and apply their technique, play hard, compete their butts off, and help us get the ball back for the offense.”

Back to Andre Jones, “I just think he’s worked hard all year. That’s the one thing I would say about him. He’s been very consistent in how he’s approached things. His role had become primarily a lot on special teams and a little on D, and that equation’s going to change a little bit. He is going to get a little more on D and probably a little less on special teams, but I like the way he’s working at it. He’s done a good job being conscientious, coming in and putting in the work every day.”

Commanders get a win: Hold on for 20-17 victory over Patriots

The Commanders hold on for their first win over the Patriots since Steve Spurrier was the head coach.

With the game on the line, the Patriots had driven 50 yards in nine plays.

With 38 seconds remaining, on 2nd & 8 at the Commanders 41, Patriots quarterback Mac Jones dropped back and passed toward receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster. Smith-Schuster reached for the pass, it went off of his hands, and rookie defensive back Quan Martin executed the old “tip drill” wonderfully, securing the interception.

The Commanders had held on defeating the Patriots 20-17 for their first victory over New England since 2003. On that day, Steve Spurrier was the Washington head coach, Tom Brady threw three interceptions, and the Washington team was still the “Redskins.”

Commanders quarterback Sam Howell forced a second-quarter pass in the last minute of the first half, resulting in an interception in the end zone, costing them dearly with no score on the drive.

Yet, Howell played well enough that the Commanders converted 9 of 17 third downs, with Howell coming up with several clutch passes. Also, the Commanders defense held the Patriots to a mere three of 12 on third downs.

Washington out-gained New England 432-327 as Howell was 29 of 45 for 325 yards. The Commanders also out-rushed the Patriots 124-107, and the good guys held the ball for 37:10 to the Patriots 22:50.

The game also featured perhaps the first time in NFL history a quarterback was sacked with the ball in his hand, and yet Commanders defensive end KJ Henry was called for “roughing the passer.” It was a huge, terrible call by officials as Jones’ fumble recovered by Efe Obada was overruled, gifting the Patriots a first down, and they subsequently also kicked a field goal.

Terry McLaurin led Washington with 73 receiving yards on five receptions, while Jahan Dotson added 69 yards, Byron Pringle 55 yards, Antonio Gibson 42, Dyami Brown 33, Logan Thomas 31 and Jamison Crowder 23.

With the win, the Commanders are now 4-5, while the Patriots fell to 2-7.

 

 

Why Commanders vs. Ravens is so important for rookie defensive ends

Monday presents a massive opportunity for rookie defensive ends Andre Jones Jr. and K.J. Henry.

Monday’s preseason game for two defensive players could be huge.

The Commanders will host Baltimore Ravens in the preseason contest. For the Commanders, they have two rookie defensive ends for whom this game could be very large.

Though drafted in the fifth round at 137 overall, K.J. Henry, a defensive end out of Clemson, was expected to push and make the team. Unexpected was seventh-round choice (and 233 overall) defensive end Andre Jones out of Louisiana.

Jones has, honestly, looked better in camp thus far. With only three preseason games, Monday’s against the Ravens could play a large role in the future of both players.

The Commanders can only keep so many defensive ends on a 53-man roster. NFL teams must trim their rosters from 90 to 53 players before the NFL league-wide deadline of August 29 at 4 pm.

Everyone knows the Commanders plan to start Montez Sweat and Chase Young at the defensive end spots. Next, come the primary backups. At the beginning of camp, there was no doubt those two were James Smith-Williams and Casey Toohill.

How many defensive ends are the Commanders going to keep on their 53-man roster? If there are five defensive ends, this would indicate room for only one more.

Thus far, Efe Obada has been working primarily on the inside, and the Commanders have listed Obada on the depth chart at defensive tackle, but he does possess position flex; thus, he could play both tackle and end.

Is the final defensive end spot up for grabs between Henry and Jones? Both rookie ends are going to be watched closely Monday as the defensive coaches are looking for evidence regarding whom they should keep on the roster.

If the Commanders keep ten defensive linemen, the ability to play both end and tackle will be huge for guys like Smith-Williams and Obada. Those smaller and, thus, not asked to play inside at tackle, need to display both the ability to set the edge against the run and rush the passer.

Something coaches are not going to ignore is that Sweat, Young, Smith-Williams, Toohill and Obada are all entering the final season of their contracts.

If the Commanders determine to only keep four linebackers they could stash one or perhaps two linebackers on the practice squad. They could also keep an extra defensive end on the roster because they are quick enough to play well on the special teams. If they do keep an extra defensive end, could it mean they keep both Henry and Jones on the roster, utilizing both on coverage teams?

Speaking of defensive ends, this game against the Ravens could thus loom very large for the other defensive ends, underdogs looking for a roster spot, such as Joshua Pryor and Will Bradley-King.