At the start of the 2023 season, the Washington Commanders organization was brimming with excitement. After hiring Eric Bieniemy to coordinate and call plays on offense and installing Sam Howell as the new Commanders starting quarterback, hope was on the horizon.
But their actual offensive output wasn’t any different. Washington scored a grand total of eight more points than the previous season, ranking 25th in the NFL.
We’ve since seen an even bigger overhaul in Washington.
Ron Rivera is out, Dan Quinn is in at head coach. More importantly for this offense, they have a new coordinator/play-caller in Kliff Kingsbury and another new quarterback with Jayden Daniels, who they feel has a much better chance of becoming a long-term solution.
Another big change will be the tempo and pace of play in Washington’s offense.
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Washington Commanders’ Brian Robinson says to get ready for more no-huddle offense
Last season, in neutral situations, the Washington Commanders operated a no-huddle offense on eight percent of their plays, good for 10th-most in the NFL. But Kliff Kingsbury does things much differently.
The former Cardinals head coach previously had an offense that featured the most no-huddle usage in football, at 34% from 2019-22.
“It’s going to be a little bit faster, if I’m comparing it to the offense we had last year. I don’t really want to go into detail as far as like what kind of play call we have, I just know the tempo will be faster compared to last year. We had a huddle type of offense, this offense will be more no-huddle. If I could give any idea of how this offense will go, it will be a no-huddle offense.”
Brian Robinson on new Washington Commanders offense under Kliff Kingsbury
@Commanders RB Brian Robinson telling SOME…of what we can expect to see offensively under new OC Kliff Kingsbury 🍿🏈
— Lynnell Willingham (@Nell_BTP) May 23, 2024
Me & @Russellmania621 🐔 will discuss this beginning at 1pm on @team980 pic.twitter.com/zqz7EYi96o
A no-huddle offense, you say? That should certainly give the Commanders more chances to score, but only if they can move the chains consistently.
While a no-huddle offense can be extremely effective when used at the right moments, failing to execute only makes your defense more tired due to a lack of time to rest. We’ll see which category Washington falls into this season.
Related: See where Washington Commanders QB Jayden Daniels lands in Sportsnaut’s rankings