Commanders 'Going to Give' Cowboys Plenty to Defend Says Zimmer

The Dallas Cowboys' defensive coordinator knows his unit has to be up to facing the tall task of defending quarterback Jayden Daniels and the Washington Commanders.

Nov 14, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels (5) in action against the Philadelphia Eagles during the second quarter at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images / Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

The Washington Commanders' offense didn't have its best outing on Thursday night of Week 11 against the Philadelphia Eagles.

It was such an off night that it left all of us wondering if something more than publicly known was wrong with Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels or if it was perhaps a sign that offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury's offense was being figured out.

Washington coaches have spent a good portion of the week leading to this weekend's matchup against the Dallas Cowboys telling us neither is the case, and defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer knows he needs his unit to be fully prepared to face a challenging offense led by Kingsbury and Daniels.

Nov 14, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels (5) in action against the Philadelphia Eagles during the second quarter at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images / Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

"They're doing really well. They're very innovative. A lot of misdirections, obviously (Daniels) can run like crazy, throws the ball well, so they give you a lot of things you have to work on, whether it's zone reads or screens," Zimmer said in his weekly press conference. "We didn't play the screens well the other night, so there's things like that that they're going to give us that we're going to have to get at quick."

To date, the Commanders have attempted screen passes at the seventh-highest rate in the NFL and are averaging 5.1 yards per pass on those plays.

Of course, that's not the only way Washington will attack Dallas this weekend, but knowing that defense struggled recently defending it certainly opens the door to considering it may have an increased presence in the game plan for Kinsbury's unit.

A win by the Commanders keeps them in the NFC East Division race and snaps the team's first losing streak under head coach Dan Quinn. If the Los Angeles Rams can do Washington a solid and beat the Eagles then a win over the Cowboys heats things right back up in the division race.

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