Washington Chiefs’ Defensive Woes Intensify Against 49ers

Washington Chiefs’ Defensive Woes Intensify Against 49ers

The ugly truth about the Washington Chiefs this season is that the defense has been an absolute disaster. But the worst may be yet to come, as the secondary will be without three starters against the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday.

Cornerbacks Kendall Fuller and Benjamin St-Juste and safety Percy Butler all sit out the Commander game, leaving the team in a dangerous position to face what could be the most exciting offense in the NFL today. In fact, Butler himself is actually the backup, having started 13 games largely because of Darrick Forrest’s injury earlier this year.

That means Washington not only has to trade two starting cornerbacks, but also a safety who already started at the starting spot. andquot;Well, it will appear a little soon, coach Ron Rivera said of the second.

I mean, [DB] Quan [Martin] plays both safety and nickel for us. [S Terrell] Burgess also plays safety. We still have [S] Kam Curl. On the outside it will be [CB] Tariq [Castro-Fields] and [CB Emmanuel] Forbes … So that would be our defensive backs. It’s a mix of those five guys. It’s taken from a few other packages we’ve had, so for the most part it runs five DBs. And like I said, it takes us away from other sub-packages.” Martin’s versatility to play both the slot and safety position will help spread some of those snaps, but if the 49ers really want to emphasize the group, they’ll likely see a lot of three- or four-receivers and a lot of deep routes. early in the game.

It also makes clock management more important than ever for the Commander, who is averaging just over 30 minutes per game in Week 17. But that doesn’t mean Washington can suddenly become a run-happy offense, even if quarterback Brian Robinson Jr. returns from injury If you can execute that successfully, you can keep them off the field, that absolutely gives you a chance,andquot; Rivera said of the strategy.

But while they score a few () times early, now there is a different mindset. So you also have to be able to maintain a balance.” The good news — if there is any — is that San Francisco is actually in the bottom half of the league stopping the run, allowing 4.24 yards per carry. The 49ers rank third in rushing yards per game, thanks in large part to Rivera’s aforementioned early scoring, which forces opponents to use a heavy passing strategy before they can effectively exploit a run defense. But good news doesn’t follow bad news today, and the rushing attack will have Robinson back, but without offensive linemen Charles Leno Jr. (calf) and Tyler Larsen (knee), and right tackle Andrew Wylie is questionable. with an elbow injury.