After being called out by his defensive coordinator, Washington Commanders linebacker Jamin Davis appeared to have a better game in Week 2. Davis registered four tackles, a sack, and two quarterback hits. Yet, that wasn’t good enough for his head coach Ron Rivera.
Following the Commanders’ 36-27 loss to the Detroit Lions, Rivera was critical of the 2021 first-round draft pick.
“Well he was a little inconsistent,” Rivera said, per Commanders Wire. “And, again, as a young guy, he’s going to learn and grow, but we’re running out of time as far as that’s concerned. We gotta go out and be consistent.”
Rivera’s postgame comments on Davis come a few days after defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio said the linebacker’s play in Week 1 was “so-so” and Davis didn’t play very well.
Sunday against the Lions, Davis made a splash on the game’s first defensive drive. On third down, Davis got through the Lions’ offensive line with a delayed blitz to sack quarterback Jared Goff and force a punt.
There were moments Davis didn’t look as ideal. That included a play where Goff targeted running back D’Andre Swift on a wheel route matched against Davis. Swift had a step on Davis, but Goff misplaced his pass, missing Swift in the end zone. It was similar to last week when Jacksonville Jaguars running back Travis Etienne had Davis beat for a touchdown, but his quarterback badly missed in the end zone.
On Swift’s 50-yard run in the first quarter, Davis appears to over-pursuit towards the edge. With Mike linebacker Cole Holcomb blocked, Davis could have filled the gap, unfortunately, he couldn’t change his direction in time, and Swift smooth in the gap and back outside for a footrace.
Still, all of the blame shouldn’t be on Davis. The Washington secondary’s struggles were more glaring. Much like in the third quarter on a 3rd-and-15, Swift hauled in a pass falling to the ground and still managed to get up and score a touchdown untouched.
On that particular play, Davis provided the pressure that forced Goff to throw the ball off balance. Montez Sweat got his hand on the ball, but Swift caught it and turned it into a touchdown.
Davis certainly needs to play better. Sunday, his defensive snaps count dropped from 93% of the defensive plays to 62%, as David Mayo replaced him for several snaps. But, the public chastising from Rivera and Del Rio with Davis may be excessive.
