The Washington Football Team came into the 2021 season surrounded with high expectations, specifically on the defensive side. Many looked at this defense as one of the best in the league, captivated by their star-studded defensive line.
In sharp contrast to what most expected, the way Washington’s defense has performed thus far has them near the bottom of the defensive rankings, statistically speaking. The defense as a whole looks like a completely different unit than from a year before.
To put this into perspective, they rank dead last in the league in passing yards given up per game (309.5, prior to Week 7) out of 32 teams. Washington ranked third in this category just a year ago, giving up just under 202 passing yards per game. They haven’t performed much better against the run, ranking 19th, and giving up 113.5 yards on the ground per game. Furthermore, Washington is the only defense in the league giving up more than 30 points per game (31), a category where they ranked fourth in the league in (20.6) just a year prior.
Most importantly, the WFT defensive line has not played up to par with their level of play from a season ago. Through their first six games, the defensive line accumulated just 12 sacks, including zero in their game against Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills.
It’s clear that Washington’s defense has made a steep decline from their breakout year, but why is this the case?
Part of this has to do with the fact that opposing quarterbacks have been attacking Washington’s secondary much more than some did last year. So far, opposing quarterbacks have averaged 40 pass attempts against Washington. The only game that Washington hasn’t given up 300+ yards through the air was against Daniel Jones, and that was because New York was having so much success with the zone read, getting Jones out in space, where he sped by Washington’s linebackers and safeties on multiple occasions.
But why has it been so easy for opposing QBs to pick apart the Washington secondary? Going back to when Washington hired Jack Del Rio as their new defensive coordinator, Washington had changed their scheme from a 3-4 defense (three down lineman and four linebackers) to a 4-3 defense (four down lineman and three linebackers). Their primary coverage was Cover 3 in 2020. This scheme worked well in 2020, with the front four getting after opposing QBs week after week.
However, through the first three weeks, Washington’s front four has put minimal pressure on opposing QB’s, resulting in easy completions in the weak areas of their zone. Washington has consistently given up big plays down the seams (see image), which is the weakness of the Cover 3 zone.
One example of this is a key third-and-16 situation in Week 1 vs the Chargers. Washington had Justin Herbert and his offense backed up at their own 12 yard line, when Herbert delivered a strike down the seam to Keenan Allen for a first down. This has happened on multiple occasions, resulting in big momentum killing plays being given up, especially on third downs.
The defense has shown life in its most recent matchup, where they picked off Patrick Mahomes and the Super Bowl finalist Kansas City Chiefs twice, and sacked him three times. However, despite keeping it a close game in the first-half, both the offense and defense faltered in the second-half in a 31-13 loss.
Following their loss to the Chiefs, the Football Team faces a tough two-game stretch ahead, where they will play the Buccaneers and Packers, the NFC championship finalists in 2020.
Fortunately for the team, in a volatile NFC East division, the team still has time to make up ground in the standings. Washington faces division opponents in each of their last five games. The team will have to defeat middling opponents in the Broncos, Panthers, Seahawks, and Raiders, followed by a strong finish to the season, to have a chance at returning to the postseason.
Simply put, this team cannot be relying on Taylor Heinicke all season to win the game by himself. While Heinicke has proven his worth in clutch showings against the Giants and the Falcons, he has faltered against above average competition. He wasn’t brought in with the expectation to be a franchise-changing player, but rather play well enough to score enough points to help what was believed to be an elite defense.
The bottom line is, regardless of its performance thus far, Washington will continue to be heavily reliant on their defense to determine its trajectory during games. The offense simply isn’t built to engage in a shootout against high-end teams, and if the defense doesn’t step up its game, Washington is in for a disappointing season.
Article by Ben Kim, Walter Johnson High School
“Football Field” by danxoneil is licensed under CC BY 2.0