ASHBURN, Va. -- On the first play of the NFC Championship Game, the Washington Commanders liked their defensive call against the Philadelphia Eagles. And then defensive end Dante Fowler Jr. spun off the edge, tripping up linebacker Bobby Wagner, and a crease opened up for Eagles running back Saquon Barkley.
He didn't stop running until he crossed the goal line 60 yards away.
The play led to a quick deficit and highlighted what had been a problem all season: stopping the run. The 2024 season featured a combination of limitations and breakdowns, which resulted in a defense that ranked 30th in rushing yards per game and 28th in yards per carry.
"[If] you can't stop the run, you can't win games," Washington defensive end Dorance Armstrong said. "That's why our big focus this year is to be able to stop the run a lot better than we did last year."
Of the top 10 teams against the run last season, nine made the postseason. Of the bottom 10, only Washington reached the playoffs. It's a hard life to sustain as only four teams in the past three years made the postseason while finishing bottom 10.
Also, as one member of the organization said, so much of that issue stemmed from being able to stop Barkley. In three games vs. Washington, he ran for a combined 414 yards and seven touchdowns, averaging 5.9 yards per carry. The Eagles topped 200 yards rushing each time.
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