Benjamin St-Juste stands out in place of William Jackson
Second-year CB Benjamin St-Juste had an eye-catching performance against the Eagles after starter William Jackson missed the game through injury.
A week after a horrific performance against the Lions, the Commanders’ defense bounced back with a solid outing against the Eagles. Yes, the team still gave up 24 points, but they all came in the second quarter after the offense struggled to get anything going and give the defense a rest between drives. The first touchdown drive came after Wentz fumbled on the second play of the drive while the second and third touchdowns both came after the offense went three-and-out later in the quarter.
Overall it was a good effort from the defense and one of the standout performers was second-year cornerback Benjamin St-Juste. St-Juste had a tough rookie season as he transitioned to the NFL and suffered a concussion that kept him off the field for most of the season. This year, the Commanders have tried him in the slot with mixed results so far, but this week William Jackson was ruled out due to injury and St-Juste moved back outside, which looked by far his more comfortable position.
St-Juste was credited with three passes defended, most of any player on either team. He started off the game well on the Eagles opening drive.
On third and five on the opening drive, the Eagles worked out of an empty set with receiver Quez Watkins aligned outside to the right. St-Juste positioned himself over Watkins in press coverage. Watkins runs a five-yard under route, initially working outside before sharply cutting inside past St-Juste. St-Juste doesn’t manage to jam Watkins and prevent the cut, but he has such good quickness that he’s able to flip his hips and stay with Watkins as he runs his route inside. Watkins then notices his quarterback scrambling under pressure, so he takes off up the field to try and provide a target. St-Juste adjusts well, maintaining his position on Watkin’s right hip throughout the play.
Watkins has good speed down the field, so St-Juste knows he can’t assume the route is under control. Instead, he focuses on the receiver instead of turning to look for the ball. This allows St-Juste to stay with Watkins down the field. Once Watkins spots the throw coming and extends his arm out to reach for the ball, St-Juste can match and mirror the movements. One of St-Juste’s best traits is his length and he’s able to show it off here, stretching his arm out and doing just enough to prevent the receiver from getting his hands on the ball to complete the catch.
That play seemed to give St-Juste some confidence which he took into the next drive. On the next third down, he got his first pass break up.
On this play, the Eagles face third and 13. Star receiver A.J. Brown aligns outside to the right and is tasked with getting to the first down marker before breaking off his route to make himself available for the ball. St-Juste aligns five yards off the line of scrimmage, giving Brown a free release but also allowing himself some cushion in case Brown goes vertical. St-Juste appears to be prepared for what's coming because instead of continuing to sink back, he gets to the first down marker and slows down, anticipating a break from Brown. He’s correct in his assumption as Brown starts to slow down to make his break. St-Juste runs the route for Brown, coming out of the break quicker than Brown and undercutting the route.
Ideally, St-Juste would have intercepted this pass given how well he played it up until the point of the ball arriving. However, he almost got there too early and overran it slightly, so he had to be content with just getting one hand up and batting the ball away before it could reach the receiver.
Later in the game, St-Juste had another critical pass break up.
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