Commanders' soft spot turns into surprising strength nobody expected

The first play of the fourth quarter in the Washington Commanders’ win over the Las Vegas Raiders captured what it was like to be running back Ashton Jeanty.

It was 2nd-and-10 from Washington’s 41-yard line. The Commanders were up 34-10. Jeanty took the handoff from Geno Smith for a simple off-tackle run to the left. But Javon Kinlaw and Jalyn Holmes converged to stuff his lane four yards behind the line of scrimmage.

Jeanty is a great runner, so he was able to bounce back to the right. Unfortunately, Washington’s run-stopping machine Bobby Wagner was waiting for him.

Again, the Raiders’ rookie made a swift move to cut back inside of Wagner. That’s where his luck ran out.

Commanders' defensive front seven is becoming the season's biggest surprise

The Commanders’ two other de facto linebackers were pinching in. Frankie Luvu was coming from one side, Tyler Owens from the other. And the Commanders’ secret weapon, Jeremy Reaves, was closing like a missile from his safety position. All three got in on the tackle. Jeanty ran a long way to gain one yard.

There was some concern that the loss of starting defensive end Deatrich Wise Jr. would cause problems for the Commanders’ defense. Maybe not the pass rush so much. But he is a stalwart edge-setting run defender, and everyone knew Pete Carroll would want to run his prized rookie Jeanty as much as possible.

Who would step up for Washington? Turns out, the answer was everyone.

Jacob Martin was the first man up. The pass rush specialist looked surprisingly active against the run. When he came out, a steady stream of fresh players stepped in without ever missing a beat.

Holmes and Javontae Jean-Baptiste were both solid. Sometimes, in passing situations, it might be Owens or linebacker Jordan Magee on the edge. A couple of times, Von Miller even played on a running down. Luvu set up on the end in the NASCAR pass rush packages.

Then there were the bizarre alignments, which saw one of the defensive tackles — Kinlaw or Daron Payne — playing over the offensive tackle.

No matter what Washington did, it worked. Except for three decent runs — none of which went for more than 20 yards — Jeanty was stymied all day. The Commanders’ pass rushers harassed Geno Smith to the tune of five sacks. It could have been twice the number if not for his outstanding athleticism.

The fact is, the Raiders do not have an excellent offense right now. They have some injuries on the line, and what they are throwing out there now is not good enough. This was a problem for them in the first two games, and it showed up in a significant way in Week 3.

Whether Martin, Holmes, and Jean-Baptiste will continue the strong play they showed against Las Vegas is an open question. But here’s something very clear.

The Commanders have built a firm foundation along their front seven. It begins in the middle.

After a modest first year, Johnny Newton is coming on quickly. Veteran Eddie Goldman is a stud in the middle of the line. Those are the backups.

The starters, Kinlaw and Payne, are capable of dominating from the interior. Behind them, linebackers Wagner and Luvu continue the type of play that earned them both second-team All-Pro honors in 2024. And Dorance Armstrong Jr. has proven to be Washington’s most versatile lineman, capable of lining up anywhere and doing virtually anything against both the run and the pass.

Payne is off to a start that could rival his sensational 2022 season. Playing alongside even bigger men in Kinlaw and Goldman, he is dominating his matchups. And Armstrong has been matching him. Even without Wise, this is shaping up to be a first-rate front seven, capable of playing the run and the pass equally well.

The Commanders will get sterner tests from the Los Angeles Chargers and Detroit Lions in the weeks to come. And of course, this is all prelude to late-season battles with the division rival Philadelphia Eagles, who showed Quinn and Adam Peters how much farther the Commanders had to go in last year’s NFC Championship game.

Time will tell if this impressive array of front-seven defenders can sustain their early success.