Just days after the Washington Commanders gave up 30 points -- the second time in three games -- against the Cincinnati Bengals, Joe Whitt Jr. admitted that the defense obviously wasn't playing up to their standards but added that "we're closer than people think."

The statement drew some justifiable questions.

"We talked about [how] the first week there was some communication issues, and we shored that up," Whitt said. "Now it's just...the third down where, alright, sometimes we got to understand the leverage and make the plays."

Still, despite the incremental improvements Washington had made since Week 1, proclaiming that one of the worst-performing units in football was "close" required some hard evidence. To their credit, though, Washington supplied that in their 42-14 dismantling of the Arizona Cardinals. Kyler Murray and his offense, which ranked seventh in total yards heading into Week 4, were limited to 296 yards, and Murray, who had just one rushing attempt for three yards, was sacked four times.

It's one game, but it did show that Whitt might be right about them making progress, and it could unearth another layer of possibilities for the team this season.

"I had told the defense here [that] you're closer than you think," Quinn said. "And it hadn't been the performances that we wanted going into today, but I didn't think we were as far off."

The Commanders, who entered their game with the Cardinals with a defense that was 29th in yards allowed and points per game, didn't look like themselves going against Cardinals, although the team's nine-play, 55-yard drive that ended with a two-yard touchdown reception by Marvin Harrison Jr. was more comparable to what they had given up in previous weeks.

That, however, was as productive as the Cardinals got until the closing minutes of the third quarter. They followed up their touchdown with three straight punts, including two three-and-outs, and a turnover on downs. It was a revelation for the Commanders, who had forced just three punts in the three previous games combined.

"I felt communication," Quinn said. "I felt the way to go through would be good but I got to tip your hat to Joe and to the staff where it's been a hard few weeks for them ... Keep digging, keep finding the right spaces, but for that group specifically, I was pleased for them to get some stops on a really talented offense."

Most of the stops Washington generated against the Cardinals were because of their effort, rather than errors from Murray and the Arizona offense. Linebacker Frankie Luvu took down James Conner for a one-yard gain, which led to the third-down incompletion by Michael Wilson. Bobby Wagner, who led the Commanders in tackles for the third time this season, limited Greg Dortch to a seven-yard reception on third-and-15.

Luvu and Wagner, both offseason acquisitions, have proven themselves as Washington's best defensive weapons. They have combined for 68 tackles and earned the fifth- and sixth-best grades among linebackers from Pro Football Focus.

"Every game, I feel like everybody's growing," Wagner said. "That's what you want to do, so when you got guys that just kind of pop out and just keep growing, you just want to do that. Now, we want the next person to do it, and the next person, and then we all collectively do it."

"I actually felt a pretty strong connection from the entire defense," Quinn said. "You'd heard us talk earlier about coverage and rush and working together. And so those were some of the things that I wanted to see in this game."

Washington's secondary, which was tied for 31st in passing yards allowed, was helped by a pass-rush that was largely absent in the first three games. Murray was brought down four times on Sunday, although perhaps the most influential came on the Cardinals' attempt at converting a fourth-and-1 at the end of the first half. Dorance Armstrong, who recorded a half-sack earlier in the quarter, looped around the Cardinals' right tackle and brought Murray down for a seven-yard loss, which gave Washington the ball back with enough time to get in field goal range before halftime.

"I think I was just ready to play," Armstrong said. "We feed off of each other, guys making plays left and right. It's contagious."

Murray's time to throw was 2.39 seconds -- by far his lowest of the season – and he was pressured 10 times against the Commanders. That provided a boost for the secondary, which had to find ways to manage Harrison. Just as it did last season, Washington has had trouble defending No. 1 receivers in 2024 with Ja'Marr Chase scoring two touchdowns in Week 3 and Malik Nabers getting his first 100-yard game in Week 2.

Harrison was quiet on Sunday, though. He had one catch for the rest of the first half following his two-yard score and didn't get the ball again until 5:10 left in the third quarter. Benjamin St-Juste, who was given the responsibility of keeping Harrison in check for most of the game, used his length and quickness to keep up with Harrison, allowing four receptions but just five yards after the catch.

Perhaps the most important development from the defense was its ability to come up with stops when the team needed them. Following Jayden Daniels' first-career interception, a rare mistake from the rookie, Washington's defense forced a three-and-out with a tackle for no gain, a sack and another stop short of the first-down marker. The turnover could have been a momentum-swinging play with the score at 14-7; instead, the drive fizzled out before it began because of the defense.

"I thought what a great example of having one another's back," Quinn said. "From the offense after the first score to go down and score and then defensively after the interception to go do the same. That was really cool for me to see."

All that contributed to what Quinn believes was one of the biggest factors on Sunday: the ability to get Arizona off the field. Arizona, which had the fourth best third-down conversion percentage in the NFL, was limited to four successful attempts on 11 tries and didn't convert a third down until two minutes left in the second quarter.

"I thought that was the real thing that that changed it for us...in this game to give the ball back to the offense and then offensively we were able to convert the third downs," Quinn said.

Washington's offense continued to roll from there, and unlike in previous weeks, when every scoring drive felt like a necessity, there was less pressure on the unit because of how little the Cardinals were able to produce. Tight end Zach Ertz said after the game that "this could be a recipe for us going forward."

"[We] get a lead as a team and then let our pass rushers go do their thing," Ertz said. "We've got a lot of really good pass rushers and any defense, I would assume, if they get a big lead like that, they'd much rather play when the offense has to be one dimensional."

And the defense is able to feed off the offense's success.

"It means a lot," Wagner said. "They're able to sustain drives, stay on the field. I forgot which game it was, [but] they took up probably like the first 10 minutes of the game. So, when you keep us fresh like that, it allows us to make plays."

The word "if" has been thrown around the Commanders a lot over the past week. If Daniels can keep putting up gawdy numbers, then Washington's offense can be one of the league's best. If the Commanders can keep finding ways to win, they could give themselves a chance to win the NFC East for the first time since 2020.

There's another "if" to add after Sunday's game. If Washington's defense can be as good as it was against the Cardinals on a weekly basis, then who knows what the team could achieve in the first year of Quinn's regime?

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