The Washington Commanders' defense has shown steady improvement since the season opener against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and there have been many memorable plays that show the unit's progress during that upward trend.

From pick-sixes to forced fumbles and interceptions, Washington's defense has risen from near the bottom of the league's rankings to a much more respectable unit -- one that plays a physical style of football and provides opportunities for its offense.

So, let's take a look at some of the best plays through the first 13 weeks.

Dante Fowler's pick six against Carolina.

The Carolina Panthers were starting to build some momentum on their opening drive against the Commanders...and then they weren't.

Andy Dalton was looking for Chuba Hubbard on a screen pass facing a third-and-9 at the Commanders' 25-yard line. Dalton's pass missed the running back by inches and fell right into the hands of Dante Fowler Jr., who juked Dalton and left him on the ground as he sprinted the remaining 55 yards for the touchdown.

From that point on, the Commanders faced little opposition en route to a 40-7 win over the Panthers. Fowler, who finished the day with two tackles and a sack, also got his first-career pick-six. He became the first Washington player since Week 8 of the 1999 season with one pick six, one sack and one tackle for loss since defensive lineman Dan Wilkinson.

Fowler's interception was also Washington's longest interception return touchdown since Kam Curl did so in 2020 with a 76-yard interception touchdown return against San Francisco and longest at home since Ifeanyi Ohalete's 78-yard interception return in 2002.

Quan Martin's blocked kick against the Cowboys.

There were several things that went wrong for the Commanders in their first matchup against the Dallas Cowboys, but it certainly started off the right way.

The Cowboys had gotten to the Commanders' 17-yard line before stalling out thanks to an incomplete pass from Cooper Rush. Brandon Aubrey was sent out to kick a 35-yard field goal, a distance that's well within his range based on his history. Quan Martin, however, had other plans as he dove in front of Aubrey to block the attempt, allowing Michael Davis to scoop it up and run back to the Cowboys' 40-yard line.

The play only led to a field goal from the Commanders, but it set the tone for what became a defensive battle in the first half as both teams struggled to make any progress downfield. That's not how things ended, of course, as the Commanders and Cowboys combined to score five touchdowns in the last six minutes. The defense came through at the start of the afternoon, though, and it was a reminder that Washington must find a way to capitalize on every opportunity.

Benjamin St-Juste's forced fumble in Week 2 against the Giants.

The Commanders were in trouble during their first matchup with the Giants. Daniel Jones sent his team into halftime with a 12-9 lead and was inching them into scoring position again on the opening drive of the third quarter. Washington's defense, however, came alive to swing momentum back in the Burgundy & Gold's favor.

Running back Singletary had just gotten into the second level of the Commanders' defense on second-and-13 and was heading up the sideline for more yardage. It would have been a 15-yard gain that put the Giants at the Commanders' 32-yard line, had it not been for Benjamin-St-Juste, who fought off a block and came rushing from behind to punch the ball out of Singletary's grasp.

Jeremy Chinn dove on the ball, giving the Commanders possession at the 35. From there, the Commanders drove 56 yards on nine plays, ending things with a 27-yard field goal from Austin Seibert -- one of four he hit in the second and seven he had for the afternoon.

It wasn't the prettiest win for the Commanders, but it did put them on a four-game winning streak that brought their record to 4-1. Who knows what could have happened if the defense hadn't forced and recovered that fumble? Perhaps Jones would have foiled the Commanders yet again and added another win at Northwest Stadium to his resume. Fortunately, we'll never know the answer.

Mike Sainristil's interception puts the Commanders in scoring position.

Defensive coordinator Joe Whitt Jr. was in an interesting position heading into Washington's matchup with the Baltimore Ravens. He had never coached a defense that had to wait that long to force an interception. He didn't have to wait much longer, though.

As expected from a top-tier offense, the Ravens zoomed down the field on their opening drive and got to the Commanders' 20-yard line. Lamar Jackson had tight end Mark Andrews open on the left side of the field, but his pass missed its target and instead fell into Mike Sainristil's hands.

Sainrstil took off down the sideline and got all the way to Baltimore's 49-yard line before being taken down. The play set the offense up with good field position and led to a 42-yard field goal from Seibert.

It might have taken six weeks of patience, but the rookie proved that the wait was worth it.

Sainristil rips the ball away from Tony Pollard in Washington's blowout win over Tennessee.

That's right; Sainristil is on this list twice.

The Commanders jumped out to a 28-0 lead before the Tennessee Titans could muster a response, and part of that was because of the opportunities the defense took away from them. Washington forced turnovers in the first half within about three minutes of each other, the first of which came from the second-round pick.

In an effort to get their offense moving downfield, the Titans tried to get running back Tony Pollard some touches on the ground. Whether it would have worked is unknown, because on the second play of the drive, Sainristil ripped the ball out of Pollard's grasp and recovered the fumble at the Titans' 24-yard line.

The Commanders, already up 14-0, made short works of the good field position. They only needed three plays to find the end zone, as Jayden Daniels hit Terry McLaurin for a 16-yard touchdown to go up 21-0 with 24 seconds left in the first quarter.

Sainristil has shown promise throughout the season because of his maturity, versatility and poise. Plays like the forced fumble and recovery show why Nick Saban called him the best slot cornerback in this year's draft class.