Deshaun Watson was surrounded by burgundy and gold as he tried to search for an escape route on second-and-1. He was about to be sacked, one of seven for the Washington Commanders in Week 5, and it was Bobby Wagner's turn to bring him down.

Wagner, who was in coverage on the play, saw his chance and began sprinting towards Watson. The quarterback tried to run in the other direction but was too late; the Hall of Fame linebacker slammed him to the ground, but not before the ball popped from his grasp and right into the hands of Frankie Luvu.

"I should have scored on that," Luvu said of the recovery and five-yard return after the Commanders' 34-13 win over the Cleveland Browns. "Anyways, we knew on film that Deshaun likes to escape in the b-gaps, so when I was coming around the edge, I was like, 'Oh, I'm going past him,' so, I kind of countered back."

Washington's defense, which was ranked 29th in the NFL heading into Week 4, has seemed to turn a corner over the past two weeks, and the duo of Wagner and Luvu are at the core of that resurgence. Wagner's experience has been a complement to Luvu's unique athleticism, and the combination of those traits has produced one the better linebacker groups in the league.

"I'll say that he's someone easy to play with," Luvu said. "Dude is just poised. He puts in the work all week. His study habits are crazy and how he picks things up."

Over the last two weeks, a span that has seen Washington's defense improve to 14th in yards allowed per game and hold their opponents to 27 combined points, Wagner and Luvu have combined for 31 tackles, five sacks and seven quarterback hits. For reference, that accounts for more than one-fifth of the team's 143 tackles; almost half of its 11 sacks and 39% of its quarterback hits.

Both Wagner and Luvu are on track to record well over 100 tackles this season -- a feat that has not happened for a pair of Washington linebackers since 2019 -- but there's more than just the number of stops that hint at how productive the two have been over the last two weeks. Per Pro Football Focus, Luvu ranks third among all linebackers with a grade of 90.2, while Wagner is 10th with an 83.7. The Browns are the only team with two linebackers who have played that consistently in that span.

So, what exactly does the combination of Luvu and Wagner bring to the Commanders' defense?

"It's a little bit of the yin and yang with Bobby and him," said coach Dan Quinn. "But I felt both of them in the blitz package quite honestly yesterday and making their impact felt."

Opposing offenses can feel their presence as well. They're the top two pass-rushing linebackers since Week 4 and the only players at their position with a 90 pass-rush grade from PFF. Luvu is at the top with a 90.6, and the seven-year veteran had one of the games of his career against the Browns, recording seven tackles, three quarterback hits and 2.5 sacks to go with his fumble recovery.

It's fair to say that Luvu was all over field on Sunday, which is exactly what his teammates have come to expect from him.

"Frankie's a hell of a player," Jayden Daniels said after the game. "Full effort, everything. That's how he practices. He practices how he plays. He's a pro. That's a daily approach so I'm not surprised that he can make it to the top of the plays."

Luvu's speed is what sets him apart from most linebackers, and it often stalled the Browns' drives. He perfectly jumped the snap on a fourth-and-1 attempt by Cleveland on the opening drive, blowing past the offensive tackle and tipping up D'Onta Foreman for no gain. One of his sacks, plus the one he split with Wagner, came on third down plays.

"Man, it's just great when you have somebody with that energy making plays; production," Wagner said. "Like, it's just fun to be a part of."

Luvu is just as grateful to be in the same room as Wagner. He called the 13-year linebacker "a treasure box" during the offseason and often looks to him for nuggets of knowledge. Luvu recalled a play during the Browns game where Wagner recognized that a receiver was going to run an option route that would develop into a curl. The play happened exactly as Wagner said it would.

"The dude's just seen the game so much," Luvu said. "I feel like it slowed down for him and that's something that I've kind of picked off picking his mind."

Wagner's Hall of Fame resume has been established for a while now. He's the active leader in tackles with 100-plus stops in all 12 of his previous seasons. It didn't take long for his new teammates to gravitate towards him because of what Jonathan Allen described as "a winning presence, a winning culture, the way he works every day."

But the reason why Wagner is still able to pull off feats like putting up a career-high 183 tackles (a number that also led the NFL in 2023) is because he's willing to listen and from younger players like Luvu.

"I think that's the biggest thing is creating that rapport," Wagner said in May. "Football is gonna be football, but it's the teams that grow the closest...that I feel are the ones at the end of the season that are happy with the results."

And it looks like the Commanders are, indeed, happy with the results that have come from the bond that Luvu and Wagner share.

"Bobby Wagner's as cool as you can get in just about every scenario, and then next to him is Frankie, who is wound up as wild and fun as you can get," Quinn said. "So, it's nice to have the balance of both of them doing their thing."