Ranking the playoff defenses

Sheil Kapadia ranks Washington fourth among the playoff defenses, after multiple dominant performances this season:

“Defense carried Washington to the postseason. Their success relied on a dominant front and a heavy dose of zone coverage. Led by Chase Young, Montez Sweat, Jonathan Allen and Daron Payne, Washington ranked third in pass rush win rate. They were in the middle of the pack in terms of blitz frequency, but no defense was more effective (EPA per snap) when blitzing than Washington. Washington doesn’t have a lot of big names in the secondary, but they were well-coached and ranked third in efficiency when playing zone coverage. Washington ranked third in defensive DVOA and is capable of putting together dominant performances. As part of this exercise, I looked at the top-100 single-game defensive performances in 2020. Washington was responsible for eight of them, tying them with the Rams and Steelers for most in the league.”

Full article: The Athletic