Big disparity highlights Commanders' offensive problems

Remember when the Washington Commanders’ offensive line was called ‘inoperable’ during the preseason? Through four weeks, that has hardly been true, but that’s not to say Washington’s offensive line doesn’t have its issues.

On Aug. 8, the Commanders lost left tackle Laremy Tunsil for the season with a torn triceps. It was a crushing blow for Washington, losing its top offensive lineman and arguably the NFL’s best left tackle. Then there was the entire center mess: projected starter Nick Allegretti missed all of training camp with a calf injury, and the Commanders chose not to bring in competition or reinforcements.

In Week 2, the Commanders lost their second-best offensive lineman when right guard Sam Cosmi took some friendly fire from rookie

running back Kaytron Allen, knocking him out for the next two games. In the same period, the team signed veteran Lucas Patrick, who immediately took over as starting center. Allegretti, who moved over to replace Cosmi at right guard in Week 3, was benched in Week 4, with rookie Matt Gulbin starting at right guard.

That’s a lot of changes. It’s no wonder why the 1-3 Commanders can’t seem to establish any continuity up front.

Cosmi expects to play in Sunday’s Week 5 game against the New York Giants, but the biggest question is whether Patrick will remain at center. He’s certainly been much better than Allegretti.

While Washington’s offensive line has been in flux, there have been positives. In four weeks, the Commanders have allowed only five sacks with three different players playing quarterback. You can attribute some of that success to Jayden Daniels and Marcus Mariota, but overall, Washington’s pass protection has been solid.

The same can’t be said for the run blocking. The Commanders rank No. 8 in rushing offense, averaging 129 yards per game. But these numbers are deceptive. Daniels has rushed for 100 yards in 2.5 games, while Mariota has chipped in 49. Jacory Croskey-Merritt leads Washington with 157 rushing yards but averages only 2.8 yards per attempt.

Heading into Week 4, Warren Sharp revealed that the Commanders’ running backswere hit at or behind the line of scrimmage on 53% of their attempts, which was the third-highest number in the NFL.

Another set of numbers reveals the disparity between Washington’s pass blocking and run blocking.

The Commanders rank No. 3 in ESPN’s pass-block win rate (58%) but rank dead last (32nd) in run-block win rate (67%).

That’s a startling disparity. Washington hopes a healthy Daniels can improve those numbers, along with an offensive line that can play together for several weeks. The Commanders brought back veteran Austin Ekeler in an attempt to boost their running game, and he had four carries for 29 yards in his first game.

This article originally appeared on Commanders Wire: Big disparity highlights Commanders' offensive problems