Washington has scored 3 times as many touchdowns on runs rather than passes, serving as a reminder that Kliff Kingsbury is back in the league. He’s about the best at using the run at the goal line, especially when he has a mobile quarterback at his disposal.
Kingsbury, recall, was the head coach in Arizona for four years. Those teams weren’t great (just one playoff game), but they scored 78 rushing touchdowns, 4th-most in the league. Those offenses scored 46 percent of their touchdowns on runs (rather than passes) which also comes in at No. 4.
| RUSHING TOUCHDOWNS (2019-22) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Offense | TD run | TD pass | Total | Pct |
| Philadelphia | 89 | 94 | 183 | 48.6% |
| Tennessee | 86 | 100 | 186 | 46.2% |
| San Francisco | 84 | 109 | 193 | 43.5% |
| Kingsbury | 78 | 91 | 169 | 46.2% |
| Baltimore | 77 | 104 | 181 | 42.5% |
| Cleveland | 75 | 89 | 164 | 45.7% |
| New England | 73 | 80 | 153 | 47.7% |
| Carolina | 72 | 63 | 135 | 53.3% |
| Dallas | 71 | 123 | 194 | 36.6% |
| Indianapolis | 67 | 90 | 157 | 42.7% |
| Minnesota | 67 | 125 | 192 | 34.9% |
| New Orleans | 66 | 117 | 183 | 36.1% |
| LA Rams | 64 | 99 | 163 | 39.3% |
| Buffalo | 64 | 132 | 196 | 32.7% |
| Kansas City | 63 | 148 | 211 | 29.9% |
| Seattle | 60 | 131 | 191 | 31.4% |
| Las Vegas | 59 | 101 | 160 | 36.9% |
| Detroit | 59 | 107 | 166 | 35.5% |
| Green Bay | 59 | 140 | 199 | 29.6% |
| LA Chargers | 57 | 119 | 176 | 32.4% |
| Tampa Bay | 54 | 144 | 198 | 27.3% |
| NY Giants | 53 | 74 | 127 | 41.7% |
| Chicago | 52 | 81 | 133 | 39.1% |
| Cincinnati | 52 | 108 | 160 | 32.5% |
| Denver | 51 | 75 | 126 | 40.5% |
| Atlanta | 51 | 93 | 144 | 35.4% |
| Washington | 49 | 79 | 128 | 38.3% |
| Miami | 49 | 97 | 146 | 33.6% |
| Pittsburgh | 45 | 88 | 133 | 33.8% |
| NY Jets | 42 | 70 | 112 | 37.5% |
| Houston | 42 | 101 | 143 | 29.4% |
| Jacksonville | 41 | 86 | 127 | 32.3% |
All of which has Washington’s start feeling familiar. With Kingsbury as the offensive coordinator, the Commanders in their first three games have scored 6 TDs on runs versus only 2 on passes. No other team has scored 4 more touchdowns rushing rather than passing.
The Commanders have Jayden Daniels, who’s about as mobile as any quarterback, and Kingsbury is using him at the goal line the same way he used Kyler Murray around the goal line. The quarterback at the line of scrimmage decides whether the run will be inside or out, depending on how the defense is lined up. It’s tough to stop when the quarterback has the speed to zip outside.
For this week, the Commanders head to Arizona for a what should be a high-scoring shootout against his former team. With the Cardinals leaky defensively, Daniels looks like a candidate for more top-5 quarterbacking numbers.
Washington has Brian Robinson (pictured) at tailback, and the matchup looks particularly strong for him. He’ll be working against a soft defense, and he’ll also likely have to play more than usual, with Austin Ekeler likely sidelined by a concussion. Ekeler normally picks up some touches as a change-of-pace, but unlikely they ask much of his replacement (Jeremy McNichols).
—Ian Allan