Daily Slop – 31 Dec 24: Kliff Kingsbury; ‘BS’ holding call on Cosmi; Quan Martin; ‘elite’ JD5, and 84% conversion rate

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Kingsbury’s creativity helps Commanders beat Falcons

The Commanders were missing plenty of key pieces on offense, but Kingsbury’s creativity helped make up for that

The Commanders entered the game without their second and third best receivers (Noah and Dyami Brown), their starting right tackle (Andrew Wylie) and one of their top running backs (Austin Ekeler). During the game, they lost starting center Tyler Biadasz and back up right tackle Cornelius Lucas to injury too.

Despite missing all those pieces, the Commanders managed to score 30 points and produce 412 yards of total offense. Obviously, Jayden Daniels had a lot to do with that, but so too did Kingsbury and his offensive staff, who got very creative and helped manufacture some offense to support Daniels where perhaps the supporting cast around him on the field couldn’t do as easily. So I thought I would use this post to highlight some of my favorite play designs from Kingsbury in this game.

Run game

Let’s start first with the run game. The Commanders struggled to run the ball effectively in the first half and had to lean on Jayden Daniels and the quarterback run game to get going in the second half. Kingsbury saw this and wasn’t scared to dial up some unique quarterback run schemes.

This was perhaps the most creative design of the entire game by Kingsbury and his staff. At its core, this is a counter run scheme, with left guard Nick Allegretti pulling to the right side of the line and kicking out the edge defender on that side. But there is a lot more to this than just the basic counter scheme. Receiver K.J. Osborn aligns almost as a tight end to the left of the formation and follows Allegretti to the right side of the line as one of the lead blockers on this play. You do quite often see that variation of counter, though typically it’s with a tight end instead of a receiver.

The Commanders then add another layer. Jayden Daniels is the actual runner on this play. He starts aligned under center and drops back to fake a hand-off, both to running back Chris Rodriguez and then to receiver Olamide Zaccheaus on an end-around fake. Rodriguez fakes taking the ball on the hand off and then becomes the third lead blocker on what is often known as “Super Counter”. Having faked handing the ball off to both Rodriguez and Zaccheaus, Daniels then becomes the running back, running behind his three lead blockers of Nick Allegretti, K.J. Osborn and Chris Rodriguez. Daniels follows his blockers to the sideline where he steps out of bounds for a nice five yard gain.

Kingsbury was very creative with his quarterback run schemes throughout the game, even deep into overtime.

On this play, the Commanders run a quarterback sweep play. The sweep run has been one of the Commanders favorite perimeter runs this season. The tight end and right tackle block down inside to pin the defenders inside while the right guard and center pull to the edge as lead blockers. Typically they would be leading the way for the running back, but on this occasion, Jayden Daniels is the running back and Chris Rodriguez becomes a third lead blocker. Rodriguez helps right guard Sam Cosmi kick out the safety filling on the edge while back up center Michael Deiter wraps around and blocks the Mike (middle) linebacker. Daniels does his best impression of a running back, pressing the run to the edge to get the defense to over pursue outside before cutting back inside on his way to a six-yard gain.

These types of quarterback run schemes aren’t necessarily things that the Commanders want to be using too often. They’re not as safe as the traditional read-option schemes that see Daniels getting to the edge in a safe manner or being able to hand the ball off if he’s at all uncertain. These plays ask him to become the running back and run into or cut back into crowded parts of the defense. It’s not something the Commanders will want Daniels doing often, but in a situation like this, where the Commanders were down so many of their best weapons, three offensive lineman and were fighting to secure a playoff spot, having these types of schemes to pull out and surprise the defense with are extremely valuable and worked out well for the Commanders in this game.

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Riggo’s Rag

Commanders key numbers, Week 17: Playoff berth secured in dramatic style

Jayden Daniels does it again…

8: Similar to what the Commanders’ defense did to Saquon Barkley last week, Bijan Robinson was mostly shut out in the second half. The former first-round pick had 13 rushes for 82 yards and touchdowns in the first half, forcing 8 missed tackles on the Commanders defense. In the second half, Robinson only had 8 rushing yards total on four carries. The Texas product finished with his fifth straight game with 90+ rushing yards.

28:17: After letting the Falcons win the time of possession battle in the first half, Washington kept the ball for 28 minutes and 17 seconds of game time in the second half and overtime. Atlanta only had the ball for a hair over nine minutes the entire second half.

Kliff Kingsbury called a masterpiece of a game with Washington scoring on back-to-back drives of 15 plays for 69 yards and 14 plays for 70 yards, respectively. Those two drives took nearly an entire quarter of game time.

108: In what has been a recurring theme for the Commanders, the team once again struggled with penalties, accumulating 13 for 108 yards. Over the last three weeks, Washington has been dead last in penalty yards. That’s not a recipe for success.

20: The Commanders came into the game with the second-best third-down defense over the last three games, and kept that trend going. The Falcons were only able to convert 2-of-10 (20%) of their third downs, although the two they converted were crucial late in regulation.

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Commanders Wire

Former longtime NFL offensive lineman weighs in on ‘BS holding’ call

On Monday, former NFL offensive lineman Will Montgomery, a 10-year veteran who spent six seasons with Washington, took to X to call the second holding penalty against Cosmi, a “BS holding call.”

Here’s Montgomery’s post:

Ben Standig of The Athletic, via David Aldridge, noted how Sunday night’s officiating crew was No. 1 in defensive holding calls and No. 2 in offensive holding calls.

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Commanders.com

Game balls | Four standouts from Washington’s win over Atlanta

Quan Martin

Washington’s secondary needed to step up in this clash as Atlanta headed into Northwest Stadium ranked sixth in passing offense. Second-year safety Quan Martin showed he could handle what was on his plate and then some under the bright lights of primetime.

Martin’s impact was felt just over three minutes into the contest on the Falcons’ first drive of the game. On third-and-8, Atlanta quarterback Michael Penix Jr. dropped back and launched a ball intended for wide receiver Chris Blair. Martin easily read the throw, picked off the pass and ran for 29 yards. It was the safety’s first interception of the season and gave Washington’s offense great field position, which they capitalized on to get on the board.

For the rest of the night, Martin was aggressive and quick to disrupt or halt Falcons in his vicinity. With about four minutes off the clock in the fourth quarter, he swooped in to bat away a ball down the middle heading for Atlanta receiver Drake London and made important back-to-back tackles later in the fourth against London and receiver Ray-Ray McCloud as Atlanta, down by seven, looked to shift momentum in the final five minutes of action.

In addition to the interception and two passes defensed, the 24-year-old Illinois product finished with a team-high eight tackles. That’s the kind performance that’ll have Joe Whitt Jr. grinning ear to ear.

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Washington Post (paywall)

Jayden Daniels isn’t just elite. He’s a closer.

The rookie quarterback has inspired confidence in the Commanders in late-game situations — because of his arm, his legs and, most importantly, his poise.

It was just after midnight when Jayden Daniels walked into the Washington Commanders’ locker room. He looked exhausted. He had dropped back 48 times, a career high, and he had taken several wince-worthy hits. His burgundy-and-gold uniform was streaked with white field paint.

Over the past two weeks, Daniels has proved he’s a closer. He inspires such confidence late in a tight game that several teammates insist he isn’t a rookie. On Sunday night, he led his fourth game-winning drive as an NFL player, tied for the sixth most by a rookie quarterback, according to Pro Football Reference.

[T]o win [the Falcons game], he threw his fifth touchdown pass in the final 30 seconds of a game, the most by any quarterback in a season in NFL history.

Late in the fourth quarter, facing third and 10, Daniels threw a dime deep over the middle to wide receiver Olamide Zaccheaus. The journeyman had caught all eight of his previous targets for 85 yards and a touchdown, but he dropped that one. So instead of having the ball near midfield with 50 seconds left and one timeout, the Commanders punted.

But Daniels didn’t seem rattled. He jogged off the field as calmly as he had the previous time Washington punted, as calmly as he had a week earlier when he threw what looked like a backbreaking interception late in the fourth quarter against the Philadelphia Eagles. Daniels seemed to anticipate he would get another shot and make the most of it. In crunch time, linebacker Bobby Wagner saw him smiling and laughing.

“It’s just fun seeing his facial expression,” Wagner said. “He’s always calm, poised after big hits — him getting hit, him making big plays. His confidence, his demeanor never changes. He knows he’s going to make a play, and everybody on the field and on the sideline believes he’s going to make a play.”

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The Athletic (paywall)

Commanders playoff scenarios: Who are they better suited to face in wild-card round?

Washington currently holds the sixth seed over the Green Bay Packers. Stumble against the Cowboys, and the team could fall to No. 7.

“We’re going to go after it as hard as we can,” Quinn said during Monday’s media availability.

Depending on the results of Week 18, Washington would face either the Los Angeles Rams, Tampa Bay Buccaneers or Philadelphia Eagles in the wild-card round. Knowing that the 13-3 Eagles host the seventh seed may be the difference in how much Quinn pushes certain buttons for the regular-season finale.

Even if Quinn is extra determined to win against his previous employer, it would be surprising if Washington relied on certain injured players.

Cornerback Marshon Lattimore’s lingering hamstring injury caused the four-time Pro Bowler to miss a fifth game for the Commanders since the trade deadline deal with the New Orleans Saints. Despite only playing two games with Washington, his absence was loudly noticeable. Replacement Michael Davis’ coverage mishaps and two pass interference penalties were painful. According to Pro Football Focus, the Falcons completed 8 of 9 passes targeted at Davis. Having Lattimore available for the playoffs is more critical than the sixth seed.

If the Commanders beat the Cowboys …

Washington is the sixth seed, heading to either Los Angeles or Tampa for Super Wild Card Weekend. A Packers loss to the Chicago Bears in Green Bay would also clinch the No. 6 spot for Washington. Should the Rams fall at home to the Seahawks in Week 18 and the Buccaneers defeat the Saints in front of the pirate ship, Tampa Bay would rise to the third seed with Los Angeles at No. 4.

If the Commanders lose to the Cowboys …

The sixth seed remains possible with a Packers loss. But Green Bay handing Chicago its 11th consecutive loss and Washington falling to 11-6 would mean a 7 seed for the Commanders and a third matchup against Philadelphia.

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ESPN

Dangerous wild-card teams

86.4%: That’s the Commanders’ conversion rate on fourth down. It’s the best season in NFL history (minimum 20 fourth-down attempts). Washington has gone 19-for-22. Bonkers.

The Commanders got stuffed on a fourth-and-1 run against the Eagles in Week 16 (45 seconds into the game) and a fourth-and-2 run against the Eagles in Week 11 (down 16 with two minutes left), and they picked up only 8 yards on a fourth-and-9 late in a one-score game against the Steelers (that one actually hurts). Other than that, the Commanders have converted on every single fourth-down attempt this season.

The next-best teams at this volume were the 2006 Patriots, who converted 16 of 20 tries (80%), and the 2008 Patriots, who converted 17 of 22 tries (77.3%). The 2023 and 2024 Eagles, who have nominally been the best fourth-down team in football given their tush push deployment, are at 73.1% and 72.0%, respectively.

It is difficult to overstate how impactful fourth-down success has been for the Commanders’ overall team success. An astonishing 23.4% of the Commanders’ points have come after a successful fourth-down conversion, which is the seventh-highest number since 2000.

But that’s not even the wildest part. The other offenses that rank highly are very bad offenses: 2023 Panthers, 2023 Commanders, 2024 Browns, 2024 Giants. These are teams that don’t score unless they’re in desperation drives in big deficits in the fourth quarter. The Commanders, meanwhile, are an objectively good offense that is also dominating on the last-ditch down. They have scored 108 points after fourth-down conversions, passing the 2022 Eagles (100 points) for the most since 2000. At 41.7 EPA on fourth down, they’ve also passed the 2008 Patriots for most total expected points added on fourth downs in league history.

This is, without question, the best fourth-down offense we’ve ever seen.

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ESPN

Jeremy Reaves proposes to girlfriend after Commanders’ playoff-clinching win

Washington Commanders safety Jeremy Reaves got to celebrate two major accomplishments on the field Sunday night, proposing to longtime girlfriend Mikaela Worley after he and his teammates beat Atlanta in overtime to clinch a spot in the playoffs.

“I hate losing, so there’s no way I could have done that in the right spirit after a loss,” Reaves said. “That thing was burning a hole in my pocket.”

Reaves considered doing it last week but finally decided to make the move after giving Worley’s family a heads-up Friday.

Worley was in attendance Sunday night at Northwest Stadium and joined Reaves and his teammates on the field to celebrate the victory when the 28-year-old defensive back dropped to one knee and popped the question.

Reaves posted after the game on X that he was “Glad we got to share that moment with the best fans in the world!”

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Sports Illustrated

4 NFL Teams Tried to Claim Former Washington Commanders Defensive Tackle From Waivers

Mathis was claimed by the New York Jets. However, four teams put in a bid to claim the defensive tackle late in the season, according to Ian Rapoport.

“Phidarian Mathis was a popular player on waivers, as four teams total tried to claim him: Jets, Texans, Bengals and Lions. He landed with NYJ,” Rapoport reported.

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Upcoming opponent

Blogging the Boys

Cowboys are underdogs at home versus the Commanders in Week 18

There will be no post-season for Dallas this year, but the Commanders will cap their remarkable one-year turnaround by advancing to the NFC playoffs regardless of what happens on Sunday.

The Commanders punched their NFC playoff ticket Sunday night with a win over the Atlanta Falcons in overtime. They are still playing to secure the sixth-seed in the NFC and will have all guns blazing for a win in the 1 PM ET game.

As such, the oddsmakers at FanDuel have installed the Commanders as three-point favorites on the road at Dallas.

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Blogging the Boys

10 thoughts on the Cowboys 41-7 loss to the Eagles

There was very little good from the Cowboys on Sunday.

RICO

Even though the game script didn’t favor it, the Cowboys’ ground attack looked decent thanks to another strong performance by Rico Dowdle. The team’s lead back ran hard and put up 104 yards on 23 carries. It was his fourth 100-yard performance over the last five games. Dowdle now has 1,007 yards on the season, making it the fourth-straight season a Cowboys running back has eclipsed the 1,000-yard mark, done by three different players.

NO PASS RUSH

The pass rush for this Cowboys defense has improved recently as they’ve compiled 22 total sacks over their last five games. But against the Eagles, the Cowboys defense just couldn’t get home. Whether it was Kenny Pickett or third-stringer Tanner McKee, neither quarterback was sacked and was afforded a clean pocket to find their receivers. Of course, it didn’t help that the Eagles offensive line got away with holding Micah Parsons, but we’ve grown accustomed to that.

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Podcasts & videos

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Jayden Daniels With Another Game-Winning Drive! | Commanders vs. Falcons Week 17 NFL Review | PFF

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