Game Overview ::
By mike johnson >>
- Washington’s pass defense has been abysmal this season and there appears to be no end in sight.
- The Rams almost pulled off a huge upset in Baltimore last week and their offense appears to be clicking on all cylinders, scoring 30+ points in three straight games.
- Kyren Williams has one of the best workloads of any running back in the league.
- The Commanders offense has been extraordinarily pass-heavy so far this season but was noticeably more conservative the last time we saw them in a Week 13 loss to the Dolphins.
- This game is one of two spots on the Week 15 slate with an over/under of 50 or higher.
How washington Will Try To Win ::
The Commanders have been a source of offensive fireworks this season thanks to their offense throwing the ball at the third highest PROE in the league and their defense being the worst in the league against the pass. In a strange turn of events, however, we saw the Commanders start running the ball at the highest frequency we’ve seen all year in their Week 13 loss to the Dolphins. Despite falling behind early and by a significant margin, the Commanders had more rush attempts than pass attempts for the first time this season. The thing that made that decision even more head scratching was the fact that starting running back Brian Robinson left the game in the first half with a hamstring injury. A pass-heavy team that trailed by 3+ scores for the last 40 minutes of the game and lost its starting running back turns into a run-heavy unit. Just when you think you’ve got the NFL figured out, something like that happens and all you can do is shrug. Zooming out, it does make a bit of sense, as there was rain in the game and the field was not in great shape. If the Commanders felt like things were beyond the point where they could make a comeback, maybe they just decided to move on and get out of there and into their Week 14 bye.
Coming out of their bye, Washington faces a Rams team that is in the thick of the NFC playoff race and has been rolling offensively in recent weeks. Brian Robinson’s status is in doubt for this matchup and Washington should be expecting to need a lot of points to have a chance in this one. The Rams defense ranks bottom-10 in PFF pass rush grade while having the worst coverage grade of any secondary in the league. Los Angeles plays a high amount of zone coverage and also ranks 27th out of 32 teams in QB pressure rate. This is helpful for the Commanders, who have given up the second most QB sacks in the NFL through Week 14. Considering the fact that Washington has been very pass-heavy for most of the season, the weather will be pristine in Los Angeles on Sunday, their best runner is likely to miss the game, and the matchup indicates they will be able to protect the QB better than usual – this sets up as a spot where the Commanders can let Sam Howell rip through the air once again. While the Commanders usage of their skill players has been frustrating for fantasy, and it is hard to project any specific players for a lot of volume, the team as a whole will almost certainly have a lot of opportunities as they are unlikely to move the ball well on the ground, and they will enter the game with a pass-heavy mindset or be pushed into that mode quickly due to their leaky defense.
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