Run game success provides positives for Commanders' offense
Breaking down the success that the Commanders had on the ground against the Cowboys
The Commanders’ offense struggled to really get going in the loss to the Cowboys over the weekend. The passing game never materialized and the team picked up multiple penalties that killed a number of drives. However, if there was one positive to focus on, it was the success of the running game. The Commanders picked up 142 yards on the ground from 27 rushes, averaging 5.3 yards per carry. The game plan was clearly built around running the wide zone scheme and attacking the Cowboys on the edge, which had success early and often.
This was the second run of the game for the Commanders. Curtis Samuel motions into the backfield before sifting out to the flat as a distraction. The scheme is a wide zone run to the left, with two tight ends in line to that side. Those two tight ends, John Bates and Logan Thomas do a nice job picking up their blocks, with Bates helping secure the defensive end before working up to block the overhang defender. Thomas, meanwhile, works up to the second level to block cornerback Trevon Diggs on the edge. The defensive end stunts inside, allowing left tackle Charles Leno to turn and seal him off inside, creating a gap in the defense. It’s also worth noting how well right tackle Sam Cosmi does on this play, reaching across to cut off and seal off the defensive tackle on the back side.
Running back Antonio Gibson takes his run to the edge, working outside of Leno’s block and continuing outside until he can’t go outside any further. The linebacker is free, but can’t quite catch up with Gibson before he’s able to turn the corner and get upfield. Gibson does his best to get as far outside as possible before he attempts to cut back inside of Bates, but the linebacker does eventually manage to catch up and make the play. But thanks to Gibson’s speed to get outside, the Commanders picked up eight yards on the carry before the linebacker could bring Gibson down.
The Commanders had a lot of success attacking the edge in the run game. It was clearly something they targeted and probably would have yielded even better results had the offense not given up so many penalties.
This is another wide zone run to the left, but this time it’s to the weak side of the line away from the tight end. The Commanders also add in a wrinkle of a jet sweep fake to try and hold the back side defenders. The keys to this run on the offensive line are Leno and left guard Andrew Norwell. Norwell does a good job initially of reaching the defensive tackle and cutting him off, forcing the linebacker behind him to focus on replacing him in his gap instead of being able to key the running back and work outside. Leno also does a great job reaching the edge defender and cutting him off, then using his inside arm to keep the defender at arm's length while continually moving outside. This seals off the defense inside and allows Gibson to stay on his original path to the edge without having to cut back inside.
The wide receivers also play a part in the success of this run, with Terry McLaurin working inside to block the safety and Jahan Dotson getting out in front of Gibson to block Diggs. All of this together combines to allow Gibson a completely free path to the edge and he picks up 10 yards without being touched before being forced out of bounds.
The offensive line did a really nice job in general blocking these outside zone schemes. Even when the Cowboys threw some stunts at them designed to disrupt zone runs, they handled those stunts effectively and allowed the running back to continue to pick up solid yards.
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