A key to Sunday's game between the Colts and Commanders will be how well the Indianapolis offensive line holds up against an aggressive and disruptive Washington defensive front.
The Commanders will enter this game ranked fifth in pressure rate. But not only is it the Washington defensive line that the Colts have to be mindful of, but it's the blitzes as well.
Commanders' defensive coordinator Daronte Jones was previously in Minnesota under Brian Flores, who deploys a wide variety of looks and blitzes. The Colts will need to be prepared for not just designed pressures, but multiple defenders coming at any time and from all parts of the field.
Through three games, Washington blitzes at the fourth-highestrate in football.
"Very multiple," Shane Steichen
said of the Washington defense, via Colts.com. "A lot of pressures. They bring a lot of blitzes. Very multiple in what they do."
For the most part, the Colts' offensive line unit has held up well this season, ranking 12th in ESPN's pass-block win rate metric. We've also seen pressure be the best way to disrupt Daniel Jones throughout his career.
This season, when Jones has a clean pocket, he's completing 73% of his passes at 6.9 yards per attempt. But when under pressure, his completion rate drops to 53%, and he's averaging just 4.9 yards per throw.
As always, the name of the game is keeping the quarterback upright, but for the Colts this week, a unique challenge awaits.
This article originally appeared on Colts Wire: Pressure and blitz-heavy Commanders defense awaits Colts' Daniel Jones
