It might not have been the prettiest victory, but they all count the same and the Defenders 15-6 win over St.Louis came at the right time and against the right team, as the Defenders joined the Battlehawks and New York Guardians at the top of the division at 3-2.
Ty Rausa was the star of the day for the Defenders as Rausa kicked field goals of 40, 50, and 52 yards to make up the entire victory margin.
Tyree Jackson came off the bench to hit Khari Lee with a nine-yard touchdown pass in the first quarter for the only D.C. touchdown.
The Defenders will attempt to win their first road game of the season next Sunday in Dallas against the 2-3 Renegades.
Defensive Deflections
1) Cardale Jones was surprisingly benched in the first quarter after an interception and replaced by Tyree Jackson for the remainder of the game.
I thought the hook was premature, but I understood the reasoning as Jones had struggled of late and D.C. could not afford to fall behind again in such a crucial outing.
The question now is which of Jones and Jackson will start next Sunday in Dallas?
2) Tyree Jackson did what he needed to do to keep the trains running on time, but was unspectacular.
Jackson did complete nine of fourteen passes, but only for thirty-nine yards and his longest completion was the nine-yard touchdown pass to Khari Lee.
But he didn't turn the football over and kept the Defenders in the game, so in a must-win game, Jackson did his job.
3) The D.C defense returned after two weeks away with two huge fourth-down stops on short yardage.
The fourth and one stop on the Defenders five as St.Louis QB Jordan Ta'amu's run attempt fell short.
You could see the St.Louis hopes to pull the game out drop then and there and until...
4) The Battlehawks final drive moved inside Defenders territory with a third and fourteen on the D.C. thirty-eight.
Jordan Ta'amu scrambles away from the rush and runs for thirteen and a half of those fourteen
yards with a little over two minutes to go.
D.C stopped Matt Jones short of that half yard and the game was over after a few offensive plays.
After two awful defensive games, the Defenders bounced back strong, maybe it's the cup snake?
5) Special teams played a part in the win as Jameer Thurman raced into the backfield and blocked Marquise King's punt in the fourth quarter to give the Defenders possession deep in St.Louis territory.
The Defenders have been able to block punts in their victories at Audi Field and I'm not sure why it's been more effective there than on the road.
6) I was critical last week of the Defenders defense and I was even more critical when the Defenders released safety Matt Elam, who finished with ten tackles in the loss to Tampa Bay.
I'm not sure why the former Ravens first-round pick was released, but it couldn't have been Elam's performance.
7) The passing game may not have pulled in a lot of yardage, but the running game sure did with over 200 yards as a team with former AAF and Arizona Hotshots running back Jhurell Pressley leading the way with 107 yards.
If the play of the quarterbacks continues to make air travel questionable, the ground attack is going to have to post similar numbers for the Defenders to hit the postseason.
Pressley is a back that can carry the load as the full-time back and enable Donnell Pumphrey to be a change of pace back in a role that he might be best suited for.
8) It does seem that an excellent group of receivers is being wasted by the Defenders.
Rashad Ross caught both passes thrown to him and Eli Rogers grabbed his only pass, but between them, they gained only thirteen yards.
9) Simmie Cobbs cracked a big play in catching a long score that was called back due to a penalty.
Cobbs is the big receiver that the team has lacked in the red zone and hopefully, someone can see what the former Indiana Hoosier could add to an offense in need of some help through the air.
10) Finally, it's Dallas next week.
The Renegades were picked by many to be the league's best team and they are 2-3 with all three losses at home.
The Defenders are winless on the road, the Renegades haven't won at home- someone's O has got to go!
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