Four Verts: NFL midseason’s biggest surprises and disappointments, starring the Commanders and Jets

Midseason is a great time to reflect on what’s happened up to this point in the year. This week’s Four Verts column examines some surprises and disappointments of the 2024 NFL season, starting with the Washington Commanders.

Surprise: Commanders offense is the biggest breakout unit of 2024

There isn’t a bigger surprise this season than the Washington Commanders having one of the flat-out best offenses in the league. Just months after picking second overall in the draft, the Commanders have changed their fortune and appear to be well ahead of schedule. If they merely had a league-average offense, that would’ve been a massive win after where they were at the end of last season. To boast an offense that’s capable of putting up points in bunches and near the top of the league in several efficiency stats is a level of improvement that is really remarkable.

Last season, the Commanders averaged 1.67 points per drive, good for 24th in the league. They were bottom five in percentage of drives ending in turnovers, net yards per attempt and sack rate while being in the bottom 10 of most other offensive stats. They were flat-out one of the worst offenses in the league last year with, seemingly, a long road back to relevancy on that side of the ball. Apparently, one offseason was all they needed.

(Hayden Hodge/Yahoo Sports)

A revamped offensive line and tight end room to go along with rookie sensation Jayden Daniels has the Commanders playing incredibly compelling football on this side of the ball. They rank in the top three in several offensive stats this year, including points per drive (first), expected points added per play (second), net yards per pass attempt (third), yards per play (third), and third-and-long conversions (first). There’s no need to place a caveat on this by bringing up their schedule — this level of turnaround is damn near unforeseen.

Offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury deserves a ton of credit for orchestrating this offense to the point…

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Author : Yahoo Sports

Publish date : 2024-11-06 23:04:43

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