LANDOVER, Md. — Joe Whitt Jr.’s first news conference as the Washington Commanders’ defensive coordinator set a tone for his group that is now starting to be realized.
Whitt preached playstyle over scheme on that day 18 months ago, putting aside any talk of a “3-4” or “4-3” structure to focus instead on “arriving violently” with a “run and hit defense” that “disrupts quarterbacks.”
The group started to discover that identity last season, but it still finished just 30th in the NFL against the run. Washington set out to improve on that dubious mark during the offseason when it signed 6-foot-5, 319-pound defensive tackle Javon Kinlaw, added 6-3, 320-pound tackle Eddie Goldman and brought in veteran end Deatrich Wise Jr., another 6-5 tower, up front.
Stopping the run has been the Commanders’ focus this year, and it was no doubt their emphasis in a 21-6 season-opening win over the New York Giants on Sunday. Though it was hardly perfect — five of the team’s 12 total penalties came on defense, including two that prolonged drives — Washington’s D led the way, proving to be much more than a safety net.
It was a menace.
“I feel like we took last year personal,” said veteran defensive tackle Daron Payne, who registered one of the team’s two sacks, to go with two batted passes. “That’s not the way we want to be looked at as a defense.”
Sunday’s game was the first time since 1979 that Washington held the Giants to zero touchdowns in a home win.
The Commanders kept the Giants to only two field goals and 231 net yards, including just 74 on the ground. Seven of the Giants’ 23 runs were stuffed — they lost yards on four runs, and were held to no gain on three others — and only four of their 17 first downs were achieved in the run game.
“You guys saw it,” quarterback Jayden Daniels said of his defense. “They made stops when they needed (to), when we were stalling and I’m being sloppy on the offensive side of the ball. So, kudos to them.”
Washington’s pass defense was just as troublesome, pressuring quarterback Russell Wilson on 22 of his 45 dropbacks for a rate of 48.9 percent —and five more pressures than any defense recorded in a game last season, according to Next Gen Stats. And the Commanders did it while primarily rushing four; the team’s blitz rate was only 26.7 percent, below its 2024 season average of 33.7 percent, per TruMedia.
Defensive end Dorance Armstrong led the Commanders with nine pressures, building on his impressive training camp.
The Commanders also held the Giants to a 25 percent conversion rate on third downs (4 of 16) and denied both of New York’s red zone scoring chances — each time overcoming a penalty of their own.
“We called it to be a line of scrimmage game, and it damn sure was,” coach Dan Quinn told his players in the locker room.
Cornerback Mike Sainristil and the Commanders’ defense didn’t give the Giants any operating room. (Jess Rapfogel / Getty Images)
Wise was flagged for illegal hands to the face on a Giants fourth-and-goal from Washington’s 2-yard line in the second quarter, turning an incomplete pass into a new set of downs from the 1-yard line. No problem.
Two incompletions from Wilson bookended a run up the middle by rookie Cam Skattebo that linebacker Bobby Wagner quickly shut down. The Giants finally had enough and sent out kicker Graham Gano for a 21-yard field goal.
Then late in the fourth quarter, after new Washington receiver Deebo Samuel took a jet sweep to the end zone to expand the team’s lead to 15 points, the Commanders’ defense was again put to the test. Wilson seemed to throw an interception from Washington’s 33, but Wagner’s hand touched Wilson’s helmet, drawing a flag for roughing, and two plays later, the Giants had advanced to Washington’s 3-yard line. Again, the Commanders held. Payne batted down a pass intended for Malik Nabers on second down, cornerback Marshon Lattimore and safety Will Harris shut down a second attempt to Nabers, and a final attempt sailed over the head of Wan’Dale Robinson on fourth down
Ball game.
Washington’s offense had its moments — Samuel led the way with 77 receiving yards plus that final rushing touchdown, rookie back Jacory Croskey-Merritt led the run game with 82 yards and a touchdown in his NFL debut, and Daniels still finished with a 98.3 passer rating — but the penalties and some odd decisions hindered the group’s efficiency.
Daniels was flagged for intentional grounding on a third-down attempt from the Giants’ 4-yard line that cost the team potential points in the final seconds before halftime. And a run by Samuel on a jet sweep earlier in the fourth quarter failed to convert a third-and-1.
But with a defense capable of leading, the offensive troubles didn’t cost Washington.
“I really thought that was a strong performance, and you heard me talk about identity, the tackling,” Quinn told reporters. “We didn’t create takeaways today, but man, seeing some plays down inside the 10-yard line, red zone, the guys have worked hard at that.”
The tone that Whitt set in his opening presser was the same one Kinlaw set Sunday, when he barreled around Giants guard Greg Van Roten and across the line of scrimmage to tackle running back Tyrone Tracy for a loss of one on New York’s opening snap.
Payne followed two plays later with a tackle of Robinson on third-and-11, holding the receiver to a 4-yard gain and bringing the Giants’ punt team onto the field. Payne, a first-round pick by Washington in 2018, was lauded by Quinn for his play throughout minicamp and camp.
Sunday, the veteran tackle moved into ninth on the Commanders’ all-time sack list (35).
Payne had a career year in 2022, when he notched 11.5 sacks, and was aptly rewarded with a four-year, $90 million contract. In each of the last two seasons, though, he produced only four sacks.
He said the flip heading into this season was due primarily to a change in mindset.
“Just being intentional with the way that I work every day,” he said. “Just going out, grinding at practice, finding things to improve on every day and even taking it home and just working on things at home and bringing it to practice the next day and being ready.”
Quinn echoed the sentiment that Payne had a more “intentional” summer, adding: “There was another space that he went to in practice. … It was better, it was different, it was higher, it was more elevated, and he was just so locked in.”
Locked in was how many in Washington’s locker room described their play Sunday while also acknowledging there was plenty to clean up.
With a short week ahead and a Thursday night meeting with the 1-0 Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field, Washington is already flipping its focus to Week 2.
For Daniels, that meant heading straight to the team facility Sunday night to get in the cold tub, a routine he learned from Wagner, one of Washington’s defensive tone-setters.
“We can’t live off that high that we just had,” Daniels said. “You kind of got 24 hours to get over it — really, less than that — because we’re going to Green Bay.”
(Top photo of Jer’Zhan Newton: Jess Rapfogel / Getty Images)
