Run game providing foundation for Commanders offense

Breaking down Brian Robinson and Jeremy McNichols' performances against the Cardinals

The Washington Commanders have been dominant in the run game so far this season. The team has amassed 677 yards on the ground through four games, an average 169.3 per game, good for third in the NFL. They also lead the NFL in rushing touchdowns with 10, the only team in double digits in that category so far. There have been many factors in the success of the run game so far including; diverse run schemes, good blocking, Jayden Daniels added run threat from the quarterback position. But on top of all that, the Commanders are getting strong performances from the running back group. 

Brian Robinson has been the lead back and already has two 100-yard rushing games this season. He didn’t have any last season and only has one in his career prior to this season. Austin Ekeler has shown last season’s fall off was due to injury rather than age and has brought a spark to the offense whenever he’s been on the field. But Ekeler missed the game against the Cardinals due to a concussion and veteran Jeremy McNichols stepped up admirably in his place, rushing eight times for 68 yards and two touchdowns. 

With the run game being such a reliable source of production for the Commanders, I wanted to highlight both running backs and their performances against the Cardinals, starting with Robinson. 

Brian Robinson

With Ekeler out, Robinson saw a slight increase in workload. He had a season-high 21 carries for 101 yards and a touchdown. He was the lead back and set the tone on the opening drive. 

After starting the drive pretty well, the Commanders crossed midfield and found themselves at the Arizona 40 yard line. Offensive Coordinator Kliff Kingsbury decided to try and attack the perimeter with a crack toss scheme from a condensed formation. Receiver Terry McLaurin aligns tight to the left of the formation and cracks down inside on a linebacker to pin him inside. Inside of him, tight end John Bates wraps around McLaurin to block the corner trying to fill when he spots McLaurin blocking inside. The team also tries to pull left guard Nick Allegretti, but he gets caught up in traffic and is unable to get to the edge. That ends up not being an issue though thanks to McLaurin pinning the linebacker inside with a strong block and Bates leading the way on the edge. 

Robinson receives the ball on the toss and immediately looks to take his run to the edge. He doesn’t think about trying to cut the ball up inside and just attacks the edge trying to get up to his top speed. With Bates doing a good job blocking the cornerback, Robinson is able to get to the edge and turn the corner to work down the sideline, working down the field for 17 yards before eventually being tackled by the deep safety. 

Having just picked up a long run, Kingsbury went right back to Robinson on the next play, but with a completely different look. 

This time the Commanders work out of a wildcat formation. You’ll notice that quarterback Jayden Daniels lines up as a receiver outside while Robinson takes his place at the quarterback position. Jeremy McNichols comes in to line up as the running back, but actually acts more as a fullback instead. The Commanders use this look to dress up one of their core runs, a counter scheme. Right guard Sam Cosmi pulls to the left side of the line, looking to kick out the edge defender while tight end Ben Sinnott follows him and looks to wrap around for the first linebacker. As the play progresses, McNichols ends up doing enough on the edge defender that Cosmi decides to work inside instead. Both he and Sinnott end up blocking the guy, but it works out nicely anyway. 

Robinson takes an initial step to the right at the snap and then follows his pullers to the left side of the line. He looks to follow them all the way to the edge, but spots tight end John Bates picking up a linebacker on the second level and sealing him off outside, so Robinson adjusts his path to cut back inside of Bates. He gets vertical and fights through contact, breaking through a tackle before falling forward for a gain of nine yards. 

Robinson was afforded a short break on the next play as Daniels kept the ball on a read-option play but he was right back in the action on the following play to finish off the drive. 

Once again we see the Commanders run a counter scheme to the left, but this time from a more conventional look without the wildcat formation. Cosmi pulls to the left side of the line again to kick out the edge defender and Daniels is able to effectively block the back side edge defender with the threat of a read-option keeper. That allows Robinson time to work his run to the left before he spots a potential lane. The lane first emerges between left tackle Cornelius Lucas and left guard Nick Allegretti, so Robinson makes his first cut into that lane. Allegretti then peels off his double team with center Tyler Biadasz and picks up a linebacker on the second level. Robinson makes a second cut behind Allegretti’s block and powers into the end zone for a six-yard touchdown run. 

Robinson had five carries for 38 yards and a touchdown on that opening drive alone, which was a fantastic way to set the tone and take pressure off his rookie quarterback. But he didn’t stop there, he continue to make plays throughout the game, especially in key situations.