Washington Commanders cornerback Benjamin St-Juste has quietly evolved as the team’s No. 1 cornerback. The 6-foot-3 St-Juste was playing in the slot earlier this year, but an injury to William Jackson III led coaches to move St-Juste back outside.
St-Juste has been so good that the Commanders shipped the high-priced Jackson to Pittsburgh.
On Sunday, St-Juste had a stiff test, matching up with Minnesota Vikings star Justin Jefferson. While the final stat line reveals 115 yards for Jefferson, they weren’t easy yards.
St-Juste and Jefferson were locked in a battle the entire game. Jefferson won some. St-Juste won some. St-Juste allowed one touchdown but had perfect coverage on the play. Later in the game, St-Juste broke up a touchdown pass to Jefferson.
The most critical matchup between the two occurred with 13:46 remaining in the fourth quarter as Washington held a 17-7 lead over the Vikings. Minnesota faced a 3rd-and-11 when Jefferson ran his route at about 12 yards. St-Juste and Jefferson’s arms were locked as Kirk Cousins threw the ball to Jefferson. St-Juste broke free and intercepted Cousins, and FedEx Field went wild.
Hold the phone. Flags were thrown, and the officials called defensive pass interference on St-Juste.
St-Juste gets the pick-6, but wiped out by a DPI call pic.twitter.com/YxSR97WhL5
— Mark Bullock (@MarkBullockNFL) November 6, 2022
It’s clear why the officials threw the flag. However, was it the correct call? Every Minnesota fan will say yes, it was the right call, while Washington would say the opposite. The truth was the officials could’ve called the flag on either player; therefore, perhaps a penalty shouldn’t have been called.
That’s certainly how Washington head coach Ron Rivera felt when asked after the game.
“Well, a thing I struggle with is, you play the ball,” Rivera said. “You have two guys that are arm and arm. They clamp onto each other and are looking at the ball, and the ball gets thrown. I thought our guy played the ball. I got a chance to see that part of it, and our people replayed it again, and I saw it. It’s one of those things if two guys are battling for the ball and neither guy is given an advantage, you probably don’t throw that flag.”
Rivera was sticking up for his guy, but he’s not wrong. The call could’ve gone either way, so the officials should’ve kept the flag in his pocket.
Regardless, it doesn’t overshadow a terrific, confidence-building performance from St-Juste.
