Washington Commanders vs. Los Angeles Rams Shines Light on Coaching Staff Discrepancies

The Washington Commanders coaches don't have a lot of defenders these days, but going up against the Los Angeles Rams might be the biggest example of why this season.

The Washington Commanders (4-9) were supposed to have one of the better defenses in the NFL this season. 

Of course, it hasn't been, and the Commanders defense is now ranked 32nd in the league in scoring. That makes Week 15 against the Los Angeles Rams (6-7) who just put up 31 points on the NFL's second-best scoring defense a potential nightmare scenario.

But it isn't a matter of talent alone that's plaguing Washington. Many are pointing to coaching as the root of the issues and while the Rams aren't setting the NFL on fire their ability to compete despite their roster issues has many reinforcing that opinion.

But it's not just the defensive side of things that hasn't gone as planned. Many are pointing to coaching as a big reason an offensive star like receiver Terry McLaurin isn't producing to the extent many believe he should be.

This weekend's matchup against the Los Angeles Rams may provide perhaps the biggest example of 'coaching matters' this season and pour a bottle of lighter fluid on top of an already hot-burning flame.

Los Angeles' fifth-round rookie receiver Puka Nacua has 82 catches, 1,113 yards, and four touchdown receptions this season. Those numbers match or top any Washington receivers.

The casual observer could chalk it up to playing alongside star receiver Cooper Kupp, but he has been out for four of the games that Nacua played in, and produced.

In fact, in the four games without Kupp, Nacua produced three 100+ receiving games and caught 39 passes in the process.

Since Kupp returned, Nacua has produced just two 100-yard receiving games but has maintained a strong presence in the Los Angeles offensive attack.

And it's not a volume thing as Nakua's yards per reception average out to a full two yards more than Washington's leading receiver, Terry McLaurin.

Washington Commanders coach Ron Rivera (right) and former defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio (left) were expected to bring a top defense to the field in 2023. The failure to do so has cost one his job already, and it's expected to cost the other his at the end of the season / © Geoff Burke, USA TODAY

No, the Rams are getting better production out of a fifth-round rookie because of how they use him.

Additionally, they have a fifth-round second-year running back Kyren Williams who has currently rushed for 801 yards on 159 carries and has seven rushing touchdowns.

That's one fewer carry than Commanders running back Brian Robinson Jr., 137 more rushing yards, and two more touchdowns. All while Robinson has played in four more games this season.

And we can't even point to the offensive lines as the big difference between the two squads as Washington has six of the top 10 graded offensive linemen in total grade, pass blocking, and run blocking when you stack them together according to Pro Football Focus.

Perhaps it's a quarterback issue?

Commanders quarterback Sam Howell is getting the ball out at a rate of 2.79 seconds per throw while the Rams' Matthew Stafford is at 2.72 seconds. That .07 gap is the same as the space between the NFL's fastest and second-fastest throwers this season.

The two are very close in touchdown percentage while Howell leads in completion percentage by nearly five percent. Now, Howell does have a five-interception lead on Stafford, but even that - paired with the five percent completion advantage - shouldn't be enough to allow a fifth-round rookie to produce so much better than the star receiver in Washington, should it?

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Really what it boils down to is, coaching matters. Scheme matters.

It's not just having guys on the field, it's how you use them.

And from what we're seeing Los Angeles has gotten a much bigger return on their investments, not simply because they found two diamonds in the fifth-round rough, but because they found a way to polish those gems better than most.