Commanders' fatal flaw Eagles must exploit in NFC Championship Game
01/21/2025 12:37 PM
Against all odds, the Washington Commanders defeated the top-seeded Detroit Lions on the road to advance to the NFC Championship Game, where they will face the Philadelphia Eagles for the third time this year. While the season series is even at 1-1, the Commanders’ defense has not fared well in either previous matchup.
While Washington’s offense has reached its top gear, the team’s defense continues to linger near mediocrity. Throughout the regular season, Kliff Kingsbury’s offense ranked fourth in the league in points per game. However, Dan Quinn and Joe Whitt Jr.’s defense allowed 23.3 points to opponents, 18th in the league. That number has risen to 25.5 points allowed in the playoffs.
Defense is not a new issue for the Commanders, who have presented one of the league’s worst-performing units for nearly a decade. It was no surprise that they turned to the defensive-minded Quinn as their head coach in the offseason. Quinn has notably improved the unit in 2024, but not to a level high enough to feel confident in this late in the postseason.
Granted, the Commanders have had to face the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Lions in the playoffs thus far, two of the league’s most efficient offenses. However, their biggest issue all season long has been against the run, where they continue to struggle. Those woes set the table for another nightmare matchup against Saquon Barkley, who is fresh off a 205-yard game in the divisional round.
Commanders’ run defense is still their biggest liability against Eagles
For most of the year, the Commanders’ defense struggled, ranking in the bottom half of the league in both passing and rushing yards allowed. However, a midseason acquisition of Marshon Lattimore coincided with the emergence of standout rookie Mike Sainristil, leading to a vastly improved secondary down the stretch. That left their rush defense as the clear weak link.
Washington ranked 30th in rushing yards per game and yards per carry in the regular season. It has not gone much better in the playoffs, allowing 151.5 rushing yards in two games against the Lions and Buccaneers. Those numbers could easily be worse, considering the Commanders led for the majority of both games.
They allowed lead backs Bucky Irving and Jahmyr Gibbs to both average well over four yards per carry. The matchups were certainly unfavorable but will only worsen against Barkley. At 27, Barkley may no longer have the same top speed as either Irving or Gibbs, but his vision, agility and athleticism are still second to none.
In Barkley’s two games against the Commanders in 2024, he has averaged a whopping 148 rushing yards per game. His success against the franchise extends even back to his days with the New York Giants. Two of the four best games of his career came against Washington when he was with New York.
Entering the trilogy, Barkley has topped 100 yards in eight of his last nine games. He is riding the ultimate high of his career and is getting the best matchup he could possibly receive at this point in the season. There is no reason the Eagles should not ride him into another Super Bowl appearance.
The post Commanders’ fatal flaw Eagles must exploit in NFC Championship Game appeared first on ClutchPoints.
