Steelers Read & React is back for a second article this week: This time, previewing Week 10’s matchup against the 7-2 Washington Commanders.
What to expect from the Commanders’ offense
Photo by Luke Hales/Getty Images
Rushing Y/G: 163.9 (3rd)
Passing Y/G: 228.1 (11th)
Points Per Game: 29.2 (3rd)
RB: This is going to be the toughest matchup the Steelers defense has had all season, and I’m not sure if it’s particularly close.
The headliner here is rookie sensation Jayden Daniels, and he should be. He’s on pace for an Offensive Rookie of the Year award, and he’s even in the MVP conversation as one of the NFL’s most dynamic quarterbacks this season.
Daniels has a great arm but also elite rushing ability with 459 yards and four touchdowns on the ground in 2024. More importantly, he’s been freakishly efficient: Nine passing touchdowns to just two interceptions; 1,945 passing yards and an incredible 71.5% completion rate. He’s a remarkably smart, comfortable player as a rookie.
Don’t forget the athletic ability, either. There will be times on Sunday where Daniels’ speed and elusiveness will give both the Steelers and fans fits. Pittsburgh just hasn’t faced a talent like his at quarterback yet this season.
But what makes Washington so dangerous on offense is that there are a number of positives besides Daniels. His supporting cast has impressed, and we’ll get to that later, but so has the Commanders’ offensive scheme.
Looking at Daniels’ playing style and the Commanders’ offensive numbers, you’d probably expect some sort of fast-paced, spread-style offense. You’d be right about the first part: Washington uses a lot of no-huddle, but what makes it special is how much heavy personnel they use. Offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury uses two/three tight ends and multiple-back sets at an extremely high rate.
It gives Washington the ability to supplement the finesse of Daniels’ game with some old-fashioned power running, as well as extra protection for the rookie passer.
The Commanders have one of the best running back stables in the NFL with Brian Robinson Jr., Austin Ekeler, Jeremy McNichols, and even practice squad promotion Chris Rodriguez Jr. Robinson is on his way to a career year while Ekeler has looked a bit like his younger self, showing off some burst in the passing game.
Washington’s offensive line has also massively outperformed expectations this season, and the Commanders love to pull their linemen in the run game to maximize their numbers advantage.
But the name of the game is versatility in Washington. This clip below is from around a month ago, but it still applies to the current version of this Commanders offense. Washington has a myriad of different formations for each personnel grouping, which is what has made their no-huddle so lethal this season. Defenses aren’t just gassed — they have no idea what’s coming next.
Outside of Terry McLaurin, who’s taken the leap into superstardom with Daniels tossing him the football, the Commanders don’t have the scariest group of pass-catchers. Olamide Zaccheaus, Luke McCaffrey, and Zach Ertz are all solid players, but they’re not one of the league’s best receiving corps.
But to refer back to the clip above, the Commanders are able to do so much in just 12 and 13 personnel. Daniels’ legs and Ekeler’s receiving ability add another vital wrinkle, as does a 30.9% play-action rate that’s the fifth-highest in the league. This is a smart, fast-paced offense that can beat you in just about every aspect of the game.
So how can Pittsburgh counter?
For one, the Steelers’ pass-rush should be at full strength on Sunday, with Nick Herbig and even the newly-acquired Preston Smith backing up the duo of T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith. Washington’s O-line has been good this season but not elite, and Pittsburgh’s outside linebackers are a tough matchup for any offense. Getting Jayden Daniels sacked is no easy task, but Pittsburgh should be able to have some success pressuring and containing him.
Beyond that, the Steelers have two incredibly athletic linebackers in Patrick Queen and Payton Wilson. The Pittsburgh defense has matched up well against Lamar Jackson for the last several seasons, and with some more range in the middle in 2024, they should be fairly well-equipped to take on Daniels on the ground. Will it be easy? No. Will Daniels break a few runs? Absolutely. But it shouldn’t be enough to break the Steelers.
Washington QB Jayden Daniels has been the leagues most effective scrambler this season with an NFL-high 327 rushing yards and 17 first downs.
But Pittsburgh’s defense has only allowed 15 yards and 1 first downs on scrambles all season long.
Collision course. Heavyweight fight. pic.twitter.com/F5xX2D38Hf
— Derrick (@Steelers_DB) November 7, 2024
Where I am worried is how Pittsburgh matches up against the Commanders’ run game. The Steelers struggled against Tyrone Tracy Jr. and the Giants in their last game, and Washington’s duo of Robinson and Ekeler is a much bigger threat. Pair that with a no-huddle offense that makes subbing out defensive lineman difficult, and it could be a long game for Pittsburgh’s run defense.
Joey Porter Jr. will have his hands full with McLaurin, but he’s done well shutting down WR1s this season; he should be able to get some safety help as the rest of the Commanders’ receiving room isn’t the threat “Scary Terry” is.
Ultimately, if the Steelers defense can shut down the Commanders’ run game, I’m confident they can do enough to win the game. But with Washington’s multi-faceted attack, I doubt anything will be that simple.
And what about the defense?
Rushing Y/G: 142.3 (28th)
Passing Y/G: 184.0 (5th)
Points Allowed Per Game: 21.0 (11th)
RP: At the beginning of the season, the Commanders looked like they had one of the worst defenses in the league. A favorable stretch of schedule against bottom-tier offenses — the Giants twice, the Bears, the Panthers, the Browns — has made Washington’s defense look better in the box score and season ranks than they might actually be.
A lot of this unit is made up of aging players and castoffs. Washington’s top two edge rushers are Raiders bust Clelin Ferrell and former Cowboy Dorrance Armstrong. The second level is anchored by 34-year-old Bobby Wagner, who is still a wiley veteran but has clearly begun to lose a step. He’s joined by Frankie Luvu, a football hipster favorite during his time in Carolina. Jeremy Chinn, another Carolina castoff, is a safety/linebacker hybrid who has played almost half of his snaps in the box, but will also play nickel and drop back as a traditional safety.
Defensive tackle Jonathan Allen has been a staple in the middle of Washington’s line for eight years. Allen plays with power and will give the Steelers’ interior line a hard time if they struggle to anchor against him. Allen has 41.0 career sacks and I expect him to flush Russell Wilson from the pocket a handful of times on Sunday. He’ll be joined by rookie Jer’Zhan Newton who recently has generated some enthusiasm from Washington fans, but is just three starts into his NFL career after spending much of the summer recovering from multiple foot surgeries.
Jonathan Allen is fun to study…
I have no clue how the OL is suppose to use any leverage points to anchor vs these rushes. The OL can't get hands back inside… And the hook is lifting and preventing them from dropping weight. Tough. pic.twitter.com/pzKhwLDv9q
— Ben Fennell (@BenFennell_NFL) June 27, 2023
The Commanders also made a move at the deadline to acquire star cornerback Marshon Lattimore. After a couple of injury-plagued years, Lattimore isn’t quite the same level of shutdown man corner he was when he first entered the league, but he is still among the league’s best when healthy. It’s unclear currently whether he will play this Sunday. He was nursing a hamstring injury prior to the trade, and he didn’t practice Wednesday or Thursday.
If Lattimore doesn’t suit up this week, that should be very appealing to the Steelers. Second-year cornerback Emmanuel Forbes has been in professional hell since entering the NFL. Forbes was a late draft riser — thanks in part to his 4.35 40-time — and ended up the second corner selected in the first round of the 2023 NFL Draft. Washington notably took him over both Christian Gonzalez and Joey Porter Jr. Forbes has struggled mightily in the pros both in coverage and as a tackler. Currently, he is ranked 193rd among corners in PFF’s coverage grading scale and Washington has alternated between him, longtime Charger Michael Davis (PFF’s 194th) and rookie Mike Sainristil (95th) opposite Benjamin St-Juste (174th). This is the exact type of secondary Wilson should be able to take advantage of with George Pickens and new teammate Mike Williams.
I mean, you know it’s bad when you’re searching the platform previously known as Twitter and you find more memes about Commanders corners than highlights.
Does the Commanders’ offense or defense worry you more? What matchups will you be watching the closest on Sunday? Let us know in the comments below!
