Washington’s defense hasn’t had the best of starts to the season. Their problems on third down and against the run have been well documented recently. On Sunday, however, Washington’s defense carried the team to victory against the Ravens, compensating for an offense that failed to find its rhythm.
At the heart of the defense, inside linebacker Will Compton stood out. He made three key plays in the fourth quarter to help his team defend a fragile six-point lead. The first came with 10 minutes left:
The Ravens face third and 10 from their own five. Washington appears to be playing cover-three, with three defenders covering deep zones and four underneath. Compton drops to his hook zone underneath, waiting for Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco to pass. With no options open deep, Flacco dumps it off to the tight end in the flat. Compton reacts quickly to the throw, breaking to the flat from his zone landmark. The tight end makes a move and eludes a tackle as he tries to fight for a first down. But Compton works down to secure the tackle, wrapping up firmly to bring the tight end to the ground and get the defense off the field.
On Baltimore’s next offensive series, Compton came up with another big play.
This time, the Ravens try a tight end screen pass. Washington sends a blitz and appears to play man coverage behind it. Crucially, Compton sniffs out the screen, diagnosing it quickly and breaking on the tight end before any blockers can work to the flat. Compton arrives just after the ball, making another strong tackle to bring the tight end to the ground behind the line of scrimmage for a loss.
While it might look like a simple play, it was a key play by Compton. With Washington presumably in man coverage, the rest of the defenders would have been running down the field with their receivers, not looking back to the line of scrimmage for the screen as they would in zone coverage. If Compton doesn’t make that tackle, there’s a chance the tight end takes that screen pass for a big gain. Instead, Compton makes a tackle for loss and stalls the Ravens offense again.
Compton’s third big play of the game came on the key fourth down at the end of the game.
On fourth and eight, the Ravens have to make a first down to keep the game alive. Washington appears to drop to Tampa-two coverage, while the Ravens look to hit the outside receiver to the left on a dig route. Rookie cornerback Kendall Fuller bites slightly on a stick route by the tight end, opening a small hole in the defense behind him. Flacco pulls the trigger on the dig route behind Fuller. However, Compton makes a terrific read on the play. He breaks from the middle of the field to the dig route, landing a huge, but clean, hit on the receiver, Mike Wallace. The receiver did appear to juggle the throw, but the hit from Compton clearly impacted the play and made sure the receiver couldn’t recover the pass. The ball falls incomplete and Washington wins the game as a result.
Washington did catch a few breaks in the game, without question. They were fortunate that the Ravens fumbled the ball for a touchback after intercepting Kirk Cousins. They also benefited from the Ravens abandoning the run; starting running back Terrance West had 11 carries for 95 yards at a monstrous 8.6 yards per carry. But credit is due to Washington’s defense. They held the Ravens to just 10 points on the road, all while missing significant players. Even Josh Norman missed time after injuring his wrist, although he did return to the game. Compton led the defensive unit well, making a total of nine tackles with a number of key plays. Washington will need a similarly spirited performance from Compton and co next week when they host the Philadelphia Eagles and highly regarded rookie quarterback Carson Wentz.
Mark Bullock is The Insider’s Outsider, sharing his Redskins impressions without the benefit of access to the team. For more, click here.
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