Washington defense breakdown part 2 - third down issues
Examining the issues Washington faced with its third down defense against the Chargers
This is the second part of a two-part piece breaking down Washington’s defensive issues in its opening loss to the Chargers. This part will be focusing purely on third downs. Be sure to check out the first part for a look at the rest of the defense.
The third down defense was clearly an issue for Washington against the Chargers, perhaps the biggest. The Chargers faced 19 third down attempts in the game and converted on 14 of them. That’s a massive 73.7% conversion rate. For a point of reference on just how bad that is, the league average third down conversion rate last season was about 40% and the Packers lead the league at 51%.
Clearly, that can’t afford to continue for Washington, especially considering the investment in the defensive side of the football. So what went wrong for Washington? Let’s get into it.
Scheme beat man coverage
In part one, I looked at how the Chargers attacked Washington with quick game concepts and taking vacant zones in the flats. Washington’s response to this…
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