Commanders Looking to Continue Offensive Scheming Success vs. Eagles

The Washington Commanders have drawn up back-to-back electric offensive gameplans and are looking to continue that trend moving forward.

Nov 24, 2024; Landover, Maryland, USA; Washington Commanders offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury stands on the field during warmup prior to the game against the Dallas Cowboys at Northwest Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images / Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

ASHBURN, Va. -- The Washington Commanders put just 20 points on the board in their Week 15 win over the New Orleans Saints.

As big of a win it was for the Commanders who now stand one win - and some help - from clinching a playoff spot, if you look at the final score you might be a bit disappointed in what the offense accomplished.

Of course, you'd be right to be disappointed, but the game plan and play-calling that Washington offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury put together was much better than the production would show, and in fact is one of the top things the team is looking to continue moving into Week 16 against the Philadelphia Eagles.

Here's our weekly 'stash and trash' column looking at three things to sustain and three to improve between the last game and the next.

Nov 24, 2024; Landover, Maryland, USA; Washington Commanders offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury stands on the field during warmup prior to the game against the Dallas Cowboys at Northwest Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images / Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

3 THINGS TO STASH FROM WEEK 15

THE GAME PLAN

20 points is never going to be enough to feel supremely confident in what you accomplished as a team. Even against the best defenses today's NFL offense needs to be able to put up 24 points at a minimum to feel secure in having a chance to win the game.

That being said, offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury drew up a battle plan that should have produced at least 37 points for the Commanders.

Thanks to three uncharacteristically missed deep shots from quarterback Jayden Daniels to receiver Terry McLaurin and a missed field goal, the units left 17 points on the field. But make no mistake about it, the kind of game-planning acumen we've seen from Kingsbury in the past two games is the same Washington will need to have against the Eagles who effectively stalled the same offense back in Week 11.

WR JAMISON CROWDER

In his return from injured reserve, Crowder returned two punts for 12 yards and had three catches for 27. Statistically, you might say it was a rather quiet day for the veteran.

However, when you consider all three of his targets came on third downs it's clear his return marked a significant moment for the Washington offense and Daniels who immediately turned to the trusted veteran in big situations. Expect that to continue this weekend against Philadelphia.

DRAGGING TERRY MCLAURIN

The second touchdown pass of the game from Daniels to McLaurin was a prime example of how to best ensure the team's No. 1 receiver is involved in the game early and often.

Granted, the ball was on the New Orleans three-yard line so there's not much room for vertical options anyway, but having McLaurin run relatively parallel to the line of scrimmage in man coverage is not only smart but effective.

Coming out in a variant of the Wing Twin formation the Commanders forced the Saints' defense into having to account for both run and pass options and used misdirection by Olamide Zaccheaus on one side, play-action to running back Brian Robinson Jr., and a matching drag route by tight end Ben Sinnott underneath of McLaurin's to put the defense in a conflict, prevent the middle of the field defenders from getting a jump on the eventual scoring route, and allowed the star receiver to easily create separation for the game's second touchdown.

We wouldn't hate seeing that play again in short-yardage situations, but it's more about the mindset of scheming opportunities and putting defenses in no-win equations that we enjoyed the most.

3 THINGS TO TRASH FROM WEEK 15

CB BENJAMIN ST-JUSTE'S DWINDLING ROLE

We won't go as far as to say you've seen the last of St-Juste on the defensive side of things but the fact that he played on just three snaps there in Week 15 is telling all on its own.

Among those three reps came a terrible hands-to-the-face penalty that turned a 3rd and 10 sack for Dorance Armstrong Jr. into a new set of downs for New Orleans and eventually a field goal that trimmed the Washington lead to 10.

As hard as it was for St-Juste to get reps on Sunday, doing that on one-third of them is only going to make it harder. When the fourth-year corner was starting, Michael Davis was his backup. In Week 15 while St-Juste was getting just three defensive snaps, Davis got seven.

SEEING THE FORREST

We've long wanted to see Darrick Forrest get more reps. We just didn't want to see Jeremy Chinn get injured for it to happen.

Granted, Forrest was getting some defensive reps before Chinn suffered his concussion on Sunday, but the need for the younger safety to step up got even bigger after it happened.

Specifically, on the touchdown scored by the Saints at the end of the game that threatened to tie it or give them a highly unlikely victory, Forrest was the one quarterback Spencer Rattler targeted with his pass.

In a classic Flat-7 route combination part of the field Forrest was lined up on the flat receiver while cornerback Noah Igbinoghene drew the corner route. The point of this combination is to run interference on the flat defender to open up space to complete the pass. For New Orleans, it worked to perfection.

So much so that even though Rattler's pass was thrown behind tight end Foster Moreau he was still able to easily corral it and score the critical touchdown.

Had it not been for the missed two-point conversion the error in that coverage rep would have been much more talked about. For now, it's an opportunity for all Commanders defenders to get smarter while learning from the victory.

LOOKING FOR CLOSERS

The Washington Commanders defense has been solid this year, overall.

Early on it was considered a weakness of the team but as the calendar has progressed we've seen more takeaways, quarterback pressures, better tackling, and a solid lack of explosive plays allowed to opposing defenses.

That is, until we get to the fourth quarter.

This season, the Washington defense has allowed opposing offenses to score double-digits in the fourth quarter alone six times and four times in the past six games.

When you combine the number of double-digit scoring quarters among the first through third of every game this season, there are only three.

We've heard coaches like Dan Quinn and Joe Whitt Jr. speak about needing to play the same solid defense the Commanders play at the beginning of games at the end, and there has even been some benefit of the doubt given while attaching fatigue as a contributing factor.

But on Sunday, the Washington defense surrendered 12 points in the fourth quarter to New Orleans in a game that the offense stayed on the field for more than 40 minutes.

No, fatigue isn't the only factor, at least not physically.

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