Commanders plan to stop Taylor by 'swarming' and 'hunting' originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington
ASHBURN, Va. — In 2021, the Washington Commanders‘ schedule was one of the toughest in the NFL largely due to the collection of elite quarterbacks that were on the calendar. Former MVPs Patrick Mahomes, Aaron Rodgers and Tom Brady were among those signal-callers Washington had to face, along with likely future MVPs in Josh Allen and Justin Herbert.
This fall, Washington’s schedule is much easier when it comes to the talent level of the opposing quarterbacks. Besides Rodgers and Dak Prescott, many of the QBs the Commanders have faced or are set to face are either unproven or average. But while the opposing quarterback talent isn’t as strong as it was in 2021, the Burgundy and Gold have been dealt with a gauntlet of talented running backs on the schedule through the first third of the season.
Through seven games, the Commanders have already had to face Detroit’s D’Andre Swift, Green Bay’s Aaron Jones and Tennessee’s Derrick Henry. All three are Pro Bowl-caliber backs, with Henry two years removed from a 2,000-yard campaign. The other running backs the Commanders have played — Miles Sanders, Ezekiel Elliott, Tony Pollard and David Montgomery — are far from slouches, either.
Things don’t get any easier for Washington’s defense this Sunday in Indianapolis, as another one of the NFL’s elite runners will be on the other sideline: 2021 rushing champion Jonathan Taylor. And, with Colts quarterback Sam Ehlinger set to make his first NFL start, expect the home side to lean on its talented running back even more than usual this weekend.
For the Commanders to slow down Taylor, it’s going to take a full team effort. The group understands that, too.
“The defensive line is going to have to get after him, the linebackers are going to have to hit him, and then we’re going to have to come cap it,” safety Darrick Forrest said. “We’re just going to have to swarm. It’s going to take group tackling because you can’t count on just one guy to tackle him. The key is going to be swarming him and getting a lot of guys on him.”
Cornerback Kendall Fuller echoed a similar sentiment as Forrest.
“Good defenses, you’ve got to hunt,” Fuller said. “Football isn’t a game of perfect. If a guy misses a tackle and we’re all hunting, then we can make up for it quickly before the extra yards. That’s the thing about the NFL: week in and week out, you’re going up against the top guys. It’s definitely going to [take] all of us playing as one.”
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Listed at 5-foot-10 and 227 lbs., Taylor is one of the most difficult running backs to tackle in the NFL. The former Wisconsin standout has forced 12 broken tackles this season, tied for the fourth-most of any rusher despite missing two games with an ankle injury. In 2021, Taylor forced an NFL-high 66 missed tackles, according to Pro Football Focus.
“He’s a hard runner. He’s got some shiftiness to him, too,” safety Kam Curl said. “We’ve just got to tackle him, tackle him in space. … Just hitting him, swarming to the ball, getting more bodies on him when he has the ball. I feel like that’s how you slow a good running back down.
Watching film on Taylor this week, one thing that specifically stood out to Commanders defensive tackle Daron Payne was the running back’s ability to fall forward on almost all his runs. Payne, who’s played with some elite rushers dating back to his Alabama days, believes that trait is one of the things that separates the great running backs from the rest.
Yet for as good of a runner as Taylor is, Payne is confident that the defensive line will be successful in slowing down the third-year running back.
“Defensive line-wise, just be sound in your technique and bring it every play, honestly,” he said. “That should stop him.”
Washington’s defense, for the most part, has fared well against the run this season. The group has allowed just 34 runs to end in first downs, the third-fewest of any team in the league. Only 18.7% of their opponent’s rush attempts have resulted in first downs, the best of any defense in the NFL.So, it’s understandable why the Commanders’ defense remains confident in its ability to slow down its opponent’s rushing attack, even with one of the group’s biggest challenges on the horizon in Taylor this Sunday.
“We just got to limit him and don’t let him get going,” Forrest said. “As long as we limit him, we’ll be alright.”
