ASHBURN, Va. — The Washington Commanders face a troublesome check this weekend as they give the impression of being to ebook a visit to New Orleans to compete on this yr’s Tremendous Bowl.
If the Commanders pull it off, they’re going to have taken down the champions of the NFC South, North, and East Divisions. And so they’ll have executed it on the highway for every journey whereas being labeled underdogs.
In every of its first two postseason victories, Washington did not utterly shut down the most important playmakers on the opposing workforce, nevertheless it did sufficient to stop these stars from taking on. Doing that in opposition to Philadelphia Eagles operating again Saquon Barkley could possibly be the important thing to taking down their third champion in a row.
“He does a very good job of discovering these little creases and discovering gaps,” Commanders linebacker Frankie Luvu mentioned of Barkley on Wednesday. “On our aspect of the ball on protection, we simply gotta be in our gaps and be actually disciplined…he’ll check each hole, so we simply gotta be disciplined, and when the time comes, we simply gotta make our hits.”
That self-discipline is what broke down twice when the Eagles first met–and beat–Washington in Week 11. Barkley took benefit of a number of the identical errors on his solution to an explosvie first half within the rematch between the groups, a Week 16 sport the Commanders had been capable of come again and win within the last seconds of the fourth quarter.
So its simpler mentioned than executed, for sure, however you will not seemingly discover Luvu out of place on these or some other performs for the Commanders’ protection. One thing that led to his ending third on the workforce in tackles, second in tackles for loss, tied for first place in quarterback hits, and second in sacks. These numbers landed Luvu the second alternate spot at exterior linebacker for the NFC Professional Bowl squad and Second-Crew All-Professional Honors.
“That is been one in all my targets. I wrote it down at first of the yr: I needed to be (First-Crew) All-Professional, however simply being an All-Professional is only a testomony to the work that I have been placing in and the fellows and coaches who play an enormous half in the place I am at,” Luvu shared.
Now, he is obtained a brand new aim, one which he shares with each member of his workforce and group. That aim is to turn into Tremendous Bowl Champions. Nonetheless, he and his workforce additionally know that to get there, they should first win this sport in opposition to the Eagles for the suitable to be referred to as NFC Champions. And it is one other aim Luvu believes is attainable, saying, “They are a good soccer workforce. They obtained one thing particular. (However) I like my playing cards higher than them.”
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