Hogs Haven
The Athletic (paywall)
In any other season, including this at the top would be a stretch. But special teams units have been true game-changers across the league through Week 4, and Washington’s teams have been exceptional — save for place-kicking. The Commanders’ punt and kickoff coverage units, along with their returners, have been some of the more consistent and impactful groups on the team.
Thanks to Samuel and Luke McCaffrey, the Commanders lead the league in yards per kickoff return (33.7) and average starting field position after kick returns (their own 35.6-yard line). Washington’s opponents, meanwhile, have averaged only 24.0 yards per kickoff return (sixth-fewest in the NFL) and a starting field position of their own 30.3-yard line after kickoff returns (17th-worst).
On punt returns, Washington is tied for eighth with an average of 14.8 yards per return and fifth in opponent yards per punt return (3.9). It helps having a speedy rookie like Jaylin Lane, who has been a returner for as long as he’s been playing football. He ripped a 90-yard punt return for a touchdown against the Raiders, the second-longest punt return in the NFL so far this season.
Tress Way has netted 43.1 yards per punt to rank 10th in the NFL, and is tied for the league lead with four punts dropped inside the 10-yard line. Way has placed 50 percent of punts inside the 20, tied for the fifth-highest rate in the league.
The outlier is Washington’s place-kicking. Matt Gay has made only 70.0 percent of his field-goal attempts, the second-worst percentage in the league. His misses: 58, 52 and 37 yards.
Jayden Daniels didn’t throw a pick until Week 4 last season, and the team finished the year with only 16 turnovers, a far cry from the 32 they had a year prior. So far this season, Washington has maintained its tight grip, turning the ball over only twice — Marcus Mariota’s [fumble] in Week 3 and [interception in Week] 4 — and not allowing any points off turnovers.
Washington’s defense has been dominant, and the offense has been fairly efficient at home (better in Week 3 than Week 1). On the road, both phases have come unglued. The offense scored only 18 points in Green Bay and converted only one of eight third-down attempts in Atlanta. The defense was worse in both games, allowing more than 400 yards.
The Commanders have given up 32 explosive plays (completions of at least 16 yards and rushes of at least 12 yards), tied for the fifth-most in the league through Week 4. Amazingly, that’s an improvement over this time last year; the team gave up 34 explosive plays in Weeks 1-4 last season.
The chunk plays have been costly for Washington, often caused...
