The Washington Commanders have been waiting patiently for Jer’Zhan ‘Johnny’ Newton to play like a top-40 draft pick, and the defensive tackle finally delivered in the penultimate matchup of his second NFL season, logging three sacks in a true breakout game against the Dallas Cowboys on Christmas Day. Head coach Dan Quinn knows why the light finally went on for the former Illinois stud.
Quinn told reporters after the game, starting at the 43:17 mark, Newton’s secret was “football knowledge.” Specifically, the way the 23-year-old used “anticipation of plays” to respond “instinctually” to how the Cowboys were attempting to protect star quarterback Dak Prescott.
Keeping Prescott clean was the one thing the Dallas offense couldn’t do, as the Commanders swarmed in for six sacks, with Newton’s hat-trick of takedowns the highlight.
Quinn explained at the 49:56 mark why he feels confident this won’t be a one-act star turn from Newton. Instead, the coach is convinced Newton can count “disruption and “quickness” as core skills, but he “put all the pieces together, anticipation of plays, how to go execute it.”
While Quinn admitted some of Newton’s collective grasp is “instinctual,” he also conceded “it does take some time to learn that.”
Newton smoothing out the learning curve could give the Commanders the genuine playmaker they’ve lacked at the heart of the trenches all season.
Johnny Newton Exuding Confidence After Breakout Game
Modesty wasn’t on the cards for Newton when he spoke to the media after the game. Instead, the player taken 36th overall in the 2024 NFL draft put it bluntly when he said, “Whenever I catch fire, it’s hard to cool me off,” per Monumental Sports Network’s Ethan Cadeaux.
The Commanders had been hoping for something to ignite Newton’s career. His potential was obvious, reflected by more than one prediction of a breakout year, but there was still wasn’t enough happening for a 6-foot-2, 295-pounder with natural versatility and exciting move skills.
Newton had appeared in all 15 games without making a single full start before the visit of the Cowboys, per Pro Football Reference. His snap count had deteriorated from 51 percent as a rookie to 34 as a sophomore.
Things changed in a big way in time for Christmas, with Newton getting maximum value from his playing time. He got to Prescott for two full sacks by himself and shared credit on two others, including this one with returning veteran edge-rusher Preston Smith in the second quarter.
In a rare moment of fates intertwined, Newton’s three sacks were the most in a single game since Smith notched the same tally back in the penultimate week of the 2015 season, according to Commanders PR.
The fact Newton’s 4.5 sacks for this campaign puts him fourth on the team only underlines the lack of true game-wreckers up front.
Commanders Still Have Defensive Tackle Problem
Newton showed off some flair as a playmaker, but other Commanders D-tackles haven’t been anywhere near as disruptive. As Cadeaux’s colleague Mitchell Tischler put it, “Newton has 3 sacks today … more than Daron Payne and Javon Kinlaw have combined on the season.”
The lack of oomph in the pass rush from the interior has compounded an ongoing softness against the run. Washington’s defensive line has barely offered resistance to any rushing attack since letting rugged Pro Bowler Jonathan Allen walk in free agency last offseason.
Allen joining the Minnesota Vikings was supposed to be covered by signing Kinlaw, but that $45 million deal hasn’t yielded consistently positive results. Things didn’t change for the better against the Cowboys, who amassed 211 yards on the ground.
That number shows what the Commanders need to fix in the trenches, but Newton can at least provide a platform as a natural inside pass-rusher. It would be a small silver lining to take from a generally miserable season for Quinn’s 4-12 team.
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