Every defense, no matter how great, has its liabilities. Of course, when your defense can’t stop anyone for anything, your liabilities are that much more severe. In the case of the Washington Commanders, who came into Sunday’s game against the Los Angeles Rams ranked Dead Freaking Last in Defensive DVOA, there’s a lot going on. Head coach Ron Rivera probably hoped that firing defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio on November 24 and taking over the defense himself would help, but that hasn’t been the case.
The Commanders have been busting coverages all season long, no matter the scheme, and that’s been particularly true whenever opposing offenses throw any kind of pre-snap motion against them. Through Week 14, per Sports Ifo Solutions, Washington had allowed a completion rate of 65.0%, 16 touchdowns to just two interceptions, an opponent passer rating of 109.6, and an EPA of 37.26 against passes with pre-snap motion.
With 14:07 left in the third quarter against the Rams, the Commanders gave receiver Cooper Kupp the widest possible berth on this 62-yard touchdown pass, and you would expect five-man football teams in the most desolate environs of Alaska to defend motion better than this.
how do you fire jack del rio and your coverage gets WORSE pic.twitter.com/3uGdrXsXWY
— Doug Farrar ✍ (@NFL_DougFarrar) December 17, 2023
Kupp was just a little bit open 😅 #WASvsLAR pic.twitter.com/c1ooZA4Scl
— NFL (@NFL) December 17, 2023
Matthew Stafford & Cooper Kupp (62-yd TD) 📽️
Kupp had 17.0 yards of separation from the nearest defender, the 2nd-most separation on a completion over 50 yards of air distance in the NGS era (since 2016).
🔹 Completion Probability: 73.6%
Powered by @awscloud pic.twitter.com/m1OdXcqqye
— Next Gen Stats (@NextGenStats) December 17, 2023
What’s worse is that the Commanders got a full slab of that kind of run-up jet motion off the edge against Tyreek Hill and the Miami Dolphins in Week 13 on this 60-yard touchdown pass.
And then, the Commanders had a full extra bye week for prepare for something similar from the Rams, who have one of the NFL’s best and most diverse motion offenses.
The Commanders are just playing out the season, and Rivera is unlikely to return, but you’d like to see a bit more cognitive learning than what’s going on here.
