The Commanders just keep crumbling under pressure

IN RUTHERFORD, NEW JERSY — During a panel discussion about women in the NFL in February at the NFL combine, Jennifer King, the assistant running backs coach for the Washington Commanders, stressed the value of teaching running backs to assist with pass-blocking. She cited the fact that “we play the Giants two times a year, and [defensive coordinator] Wink Martindale might [cover-zero blitz] you out at any moment.”

“No more of that,” jocularly murmured Commanders Coach Ron Rivera, who was seated in the audience, to New York Coach Brian Daboll across the table.

“You know Wink,” Daboll shrugged, smiling.

Eight months later, during Sunday’s 14-7 loss at MetLife Stadium, Martindale continued to blitz until Washington withered. According to TruMedia, the Giants blitzed on 29 of 49 dropbacks (59.2 percent), which is the greatest rate of blitzing a Washington quarterback has encountered in a decade. The Commanders have been afflicted with a more widespread ailment throughout the season, and Martindale’s blitzes are only the visible manifestation of it.

To put it plainly, Washington cannot handle pressure well.

Alright, that may be too easy. If the quarterback of any team is under duress, the offense of almost every club suffers. However, it’s critical to distinguish between Sam Howell’s pressure-appearance rate (which is about league-average, save for that crushing Week 3 loss to Buffalo) and the rate at which negative outcomes occur (which is exceptionally high).

One small example: Howell was pressured into throwing an off-target (but catchable) ball on the run during the Commanders’ final offensive play against the Giants, which wide receiver Jahan Dotson was unable to haul in.

One major example: according to TruMedia, Howell has been pressured into taking a sack on 34.8% of his pressures, which would be the greatest percentage of any quarterback since at least 2011. That’s a serious issue that could completely collapse drives.

Commanders lose to the weak Giants after failing to overcome a first-half disadvantage.

Howell remarked, “Everyone has a hand in it,” regarding Washington’s difficulties with pressure. “I believe I could have done a better job of getting rid of the ball in a lot of the sacks this year.” Then, occasionally, we receive a beating up front. I believe that everyone of us could focus more intently on our respective responsibilities.

Opposing defensive coordinators were happy to blitz Howell at an average or below-average rate for the first six weeks. Howell would keep the ball if they played solid coverage, and when pressure mounted, he would bumble or make an error like he did in the end zone against Buffalo or in the sack fumbles against Arizona and Denver. Naturally enough, Martindale up the ante.

The Washington players assigned multiple reasons for their team’s collapse. Receivers periodically found it difficult to establish separation downfield against man-to-man coverage, the offensive line battled to win one-on-one matchups, Howell held the ball for too long, and offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy delayed changing the game plan until after halftime. Howell and his blocks had multiple communication breakdowns regarding protection at the line of scrimmage.

The Washington players gave several explanations on why their squad failed. The offensive line battled to win one-on-one battles, Howell held the ball for too long, and offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy postponed adjusting the game plan until after halftime. Receivers occasionally struggled to build separation downfield against man-to-man coverage. There were several instances of communication breakdowns between Howell and his blocks when it came to line of scrimmage protection.

The drives became better. One resulted in a score on short field. Although penalties and errors kept scores from being scored, the offense moved the ball. Rivera claimed that the six-lineman package was part of the game strategy. Why then didn’t Bieniemy intervene earlier?

Howell stated, “You work on a game plan all week long.” After the first few drives, it can be difficult to just decide to give up and abandon the entire strategy. We have another plan in mind. I believed our idea worked well; now we just need to execute it better.

Buckner: If only the Commanders could take a play off for their standout punter.

McLaurin appeared to be affected by the offense’s difficulties with pressure in the locker room.