Commanders run game dominant against the Giants

Breaking down how the Commanders had so much success on the ground in the win over the Giants

The Washington Commanders victory over the New York Giants on Sunday came largely down to the run game. The Commanders were consistently able to have success running the ball, which enabled them to control the tempo of the game and time of possession to help take pressure off the defense. In total, the Commanders put up 215 rushing yards from 35 rushes at 6.1 yards per carry on average. Starting back Brian Robinson accounted for 133 of those yards from his 17 carries, averaging a monstrous 7.8 yards per carry. Austin Ekeler averaged 4.8 yards per carry and quarterback Jayden Daniels managed 4.4 yards per carry. 

It was a dominant performance from the Commanders run game, which deserves credit across the board from the players to the coaching staff. Offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury deserves plenty of praise not only for his run game designs, but how he got to them. The Giants knew the Commanders would likely lean on the run game with a rookie quarterback in Jayden Daniels still adjusting to life in the NFL, so they were prepared to load the box to stop the run. It’s hard to run on a loaded box, so Kingsbury found ways to manipulate box counts. So to start this breakdown on the run game, we need to first look at a few passes.

Early in the game, Kingsbury called a lot of run-pass option plays (RPOs) for two main reasons. The first was to help Jayden Daniels settle into the game, giving him some easy quick throws to try and get him in rhythm while still having the ability to hand the ball off if needed. The second reason was to help with the number of defenders in the box. Most of Kingsbury’s RPOs are based on numbers. He’ll combine a run with some form of wide receiver screen, either a bubble screen or a tunnel screen. The quarterback can then read the defense before the snap and see based on how many defenders are lined up over the screen compared to in the box to defend the run and decide which is the better option.

Here are two RPOs that Kingsbury called on the Commanders opening drive. Both of these are run plays packaged with a tunnel screen on the outside. On the first play of the clip, you can see the Giants initially have four defenders over the tunnel screen outside, which means the screen is outnumbered. However, just before the snap, one of those defenders drops down off the edge, leaving just three defenders outside, one of those being a deep safety. With the math changing, Daniels now knows it’s better for him to pull the ball and throw the screen outside instead of handing it off inside, where the defense has more numbers in the box. He snaps the ball and throws the tunnel screen outside and the Commanders pick up a solid gain leading to a first down. 

The second play of the clip is quite similar. It’s a slightly different look inside with the run scheme, but the tunnel screen on the outside is the same. This time the Giants start with just three defenders out over the screen while loading up the box to stop the run, so again Daniels pulls the ball and throws the screen and the Commanders again pick up the first down. 

Kingsbury called a bunch of these RPOs early in the game and the Giants were insistent on staying sound in the run game, which gave Washington space outside. Eventually though, that focus changed for the Giants. After giving up too many free yards on the screens, they shifted their focus to ensuring they had enough numbers on the outside to shut down the easy screens, which in turn presented Washington with some favorable looks to run against. 

This play came in the second half after the Giants had made an adjustment to try and shut down the screen game. You can see before the snap they keep four defenders outside over the potential tunnel screen, ensuring they can keep any gain to a minimum. However, to do that, the Giants leave themselves light in the box against the run. You can see they have four down lineman and one linebacker in the box, and then a cornerback and a safety sitting deeper. Every offense in the league would love to be able to run the ball into this type of look and box count. 

From the end zone replay angle, you can see that while Kingsbury got the Commanders into a favorable look, he didn’t just run any basic run scheme. He intentionally called a specific type of run to pair with the tunnel screen. The Commanders run a trap scheme here, where both guards pull to their left and block the defender a couple of gaps over. That means Sam Cosmi pulls and blocks the defensive tackle that lines up on the outside shoulder of left guard Nick Allegretti. Allegretti also pulls to his left, kicking out the defensive end on the edge. 

The Giants use a run stunt to try and help overcome being light in the box, but the Commanders offensive lineman respond well. Cosmi adjusts and pins his defender inside while left tackle Cornelius Lucas manages to just kick out the linebacker. That creates a lane and Brian Robinson bursts through it. With so few defenders in the box, Once he’s through the line of scrimmage it’s off to the races. Robinson bounces his run outside of cornerback Deonte Banks and races past him down the sideline on his way to a 32-yard gain. 

Kingsbury then built further layers off those tunnel screens in the passing game.