DTs John Ridgeway and Benning Potoa’e stand out against Cowboys

Taking a closer look at two back up defensive tackles that caught the eye against the Cowboys

The Washington Commanders’ defense did a great job in the season finale against the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday. A number of players had strong outings, especially some of the rotational and back up players that got more playing time than usual. Two that stood out in particular to me were defensive lineman John Ridgeway and Benning Potoa’e, so I thought I’d highlight a few of their good plays.

John Ridgeway

Ridgeway stood out early and often for the Commanders. With Jonathan Allen absent through injury, Ridgeway started alongside Daron Payne and almost instantly had an impact in the run game.

On the second play of the game, the Cowboys look to run an inside zone scheme from the shotgun. Ridgeway aligns in the A gap between the center and right guard, who work as a combination to block him before the center peels off to pick up another block. Ridgeway takes a second off the snap to identify exactly who is blocking him, giving up a yard or two of depth, but then he catches on and starts to engage with right guard Zack Martin. Once engaged, Ridgeway does a great job stacking Martin up, getting his hands inside on Martin’s chest and giving himself the ability to work to either side of him. He peaks into the backfield and spots the runner cutting back, so Ridgeway works across Martin’s face and makes the tackle for a minimal gain.

Martin has consistently been one of the best guards in the NFL since he was drafted back in 2014. Not many defensive lineman get the better of him on a consistent basis. But that play wasn’t the only time Ridgeway stood out when working against Martin.

This time, Martin looks to take on Ridgeway one-on-one. Martin gets a nice jump off the snap, but Ridgeway is the first one to land his hands. He places them well on the chest of Martin, which gives him control of the block. With his hands inside, Ridgeway then uses his strength to get under Martin and stack him up. He extends his arms and holds his position while keeping Martin off him. He then peaks into the backfield and locates the running back working into his gap, so he drops his hands to disengage and quickly wraps up the running back in the hole.

Ridgeway is a natural run defender. He does a great job taking on blockers, stacking them up and giving himself the ability to work either side of them based on the path of the running back. There were multiple times he got the better of the center doing exactly that.