Dan Quinn Declares: "No Compromise, Only Players Who Dare to Move Forward With Us!"
Changing their defense was an imperative for the Washington Commanders, and head coach Dan Quinn believes two players have earned “more opportunities” thanks to their performances during Week 8’s otherwise disappointing 28-7 defeat to the Kansas City Chiefs.
Quinn highlighted second-year linebacker Jordan Magee and big-bodied safety Tyler Owens after the game on Monday Night Football. As Quinn put it, “I liked the speed I felt from them. … They earned the right to have more opportunities in there, too,” per ESPN’s John Keim.
Dan Quinn on Jordan Magee/Tyler Owens: “I liked the speed I felt from them. … They earned the right to have more opportunities in there, too.”
The increased workloads for both Magee and Owens were just a small part of a number of alterations the Commanders made to their schemes. Those changeups also included a new role for dynamic, roving linebacker Frankie Luvu.
While the defense was still burned by three Patrick Mahomes touchdown passes, the Commanders’ unit did create pressure and force turnovers. Those are necessary steps toward genuine and long overdue improvement on this side of the ball.
Commanders Made Positive Changes on Defense
Defensive coordinator Joe Whitt Jr. had teased more snaps for Magee against the Chicago Bears in Week 6, but the Commanders committed to the linebacker in Kansas City. They also put 6-foot-2, 213-pound hybrid defensive back Owens in the box more often.
All told, Magee was on the field for 58 snaps, while Owens, who was also touted for bigger things this offseason, clocked 25 reps, according to The Washington Post’s Tom Schad.
A whopping 58 snaps for Jordan Magee, and 25 for Tyler Owens.
Quinn’s reference to the increased speed the Commanders had with Magee and Owens involved was key to how this defense changed the picture in coverage. The Commanders played more zone, an approach that yielded interceptions by cornerback Marshon Lattimore and middle linebacker Bobby Wagner.
Keeping the ball in front and maintaining eyes on Mahomes worked early, but things fell apart when the Commanders weren’t able to keep heat on the pocket, despite a different look up front for Luvu.
Frankie Luvu Change Produced Mixed Results
Getting Luvu more involved in the pass rush was a priority, and he “played 48 snaps on the DL against the Chiefs, tied for the most in his career. Last time he played that much on the line was Week 16 of his rookie season,” according to Nicki Jhabvala of The Athletic.
Frankie Luvu played 48 snaps on the DL against the Chiefs, tied for the most in his career. Last time he played that much on the line was Week 16 of his rookie season.
Luvu aligning further forward was part of Quinn and Whitt deploying a “lot of 3–4 looks,” per Keim. The altered appearance of the front seven unsettled Mahomes, but it didn’t leave him under siege, with Pro Football Reference noting Luvu didn’t register a sack, nor a single pressure, although ESPN credited the 29-year-old with a QB hit.
While Luvu couldn’t make a dent, fellow edge-rusher Jacob Martin did. The versatile veteran “took advantage of an opportunity on Monday night in his highest workload of the season (32 pass rush snaps),” per Commanding The Huddle host Ryan Fowler, who highlighted Martin’s two sacks.
Jacob Martin took advantage of an opportunity on Monday night in his highest workload of the season (32 pass rush snaps).
14 pressures & 3.5 sacks the last two weeks combined. His energy and pop was evident all evening.
Martin led a makeshift pass rush, but the Commanders are still waiting on more from Luvu. They can play zone at a high level with Magee and Owens covering ground more quickly sideline to sideline, but passive coverage shells won’t hold up without greater pressure.
Dan Quinn explains reason behind Commanders loss vs. Chiefs
The Washington Commanders are losers of three straight after falling 28-7 to the Kansas City Chiefs to close out Week 8 in the NFL on Monday Night Football.
Commanders head coach Dan Quinn spoke after the game about why the team couldn't come away with the win at Arrowhead.
“I thought heading into the game and early in, the energy, the juice and the speed, I saw and I felt it the minute we stepped onto the field," Quinn said.
"That is honestly what we are looking for. Man did we leave a lot of opportunities out there tonight. You cannot leave that many chances out there and expect to win, especially against this team. Not capitalizing on the turnovers, not winning our fourth downs and they did. It was great to see some of the takeaways.
"That has been an emphasis on what we have been hitting on, but leaving here, you cannot leave that many opportunities there and walk away from this place with a win. I liked the intensity of the first half, but I just thought we had opportunities for us to make our mark, and we didn’t nail those. We are not going to walk away with a win with those missed opportunities.”
Commanders fail to capitalize on opportunities
The Commanders were tied 7-7 at halftime and had chances to keep the Chiefs out of the end zone in the second half. Unfortuantely for the Commanders, they failed to execute.
"I just thought there were missed opportunities in the game. You can’t come here and expect to win and miss on those, you have to nail them. I thought we were going to play bold and live on the edge. That’s how we needed to play here. When we missed those, I thought those were the ones that we needed to nail," Quinn said.
Perhaps the Commanders would have executed better if Jayden Daniels was in the game instead of Marcus Mariota, but Washington has to play with its healthy players on the field. It's a shame that injuries have affected the first half of the season so much, but that's part of what the Commanders have signed up for.
Ultimately, Quinn has confidence in every player that puts on a uniform and goes out to play, so they need to be able to compete at a high level and execute the game plan built for them.
