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Ralph Vacchiano
NFC East Reporter
For a moment, it was a flashback to a better time. There was Chase Young, showing the power to muscle through the hold of a left tackle, the relentlessness to keep going after he was ridden out of the play, the athleticism to catch up to Russell Wilson and dive to grab hold of his feet.
That sack in the third quarter on Sunday was his first of the season. It might also have been the best he’s looked since way back in his rookie year.
“It’s been a long time coming for me,” Young said in the locker room after the game.
Indeed, it had been a very long time in between sacks for Young. His last one came nearly two years ago — Oct. 10, 2021. He had 1 ½ sacks total in the Washington Commanders’ wild, come-from-behind, 35-33 win in Denver on Sunday. That matched his sack total for 2021 and 2022 combined.
Of course, he missed most of those years with a torn ACL that limited him to just 12 games over that two-year span. That included three games late last season where he looked like a shell of his former self. But in his first game of this season, he showed at least flashes of the talent that back in 2020 had made him the NFL’s Defensive Rookie of the Year.
“He did remind me (of) a lot of the things from his rookie year,” said Commanders coach Ron Rivera. “First of all, he was so excited to get back out on the field, we had to really kind of try to temp him the best we could. A couple times he popped out there when it wasn’t his time to rotate in. But, we tried to maintain that with him as good as we can.
“Secondly, I thought he did show his explosiveness. There were some times where you saw him just flat out win on his own and the quarterback just barely get the ball out on time. And then you saw his persistence in terms of countering coming back underneath and then getting his first sack. That was good to see.”
It was great to see for the Commanders, because the 24-year-old Young has been the missing piece to what they think can be the…
Source link : https://www.foxsports.com/stories/nfl/chase-young-resurgence-positive-sign-for-surprising-commanders
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Publish date : 2023-09-19 21:12:08
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