Washington rookie believes Commanders have a 'very dangerous defense'

The Washington Commanders faced the Philadelphia Eagles in a closely contested season opener. Despite the loss, rookie linebacker Joshua Josephs expressed confidence in the team's defensive capabilities as they prepare for their Week 2 matchup against the Dallas Cowboys. "Just watching film collectively, I feel like we’re a very dangerous defense," Josephs stated.

"I believe we’re gonna be a dominant defense, and I believe we showed a little glimpse of it. But, still, there’s things throughout the game here and there that we need to clean up and things that we definitely could have been better with. But, overall, I just know there’s constant work that we have to put in to continuously grow and become the best team, or the best defense, that we can be."

Both Washington and the Cowboys are coming into this game with a 0-1 record after suffering defeats to an NFC East rival in their season openers. In order to secure a playoff spot, a must-win game is considered critical, as only one team in the past 30 years started the season 0-2 with both losses against division rivals and still managed to make the playoffs – the Chicago Bears last season.

Josephs emphasized that while the defense needs to address issues from the previous game, every player on the Commanders' defense possesses a competitive edge that distinguishes them from their opponents. "Just cleaning up some of the things we did from last week and playing the way that we know we can play," Josephs remarked. "I believe everybody on our defense is winners, love to win, and has that competitive edge about them that just sets them apart from other people. So, just playing our game, trusting our keys and the preparation we put in and then just working."