Before Chase Young could answer, Montez Sweat interjected on his teammate’s behalf when the Washington Commanders edge rusher was asked if his performance during Sunday’s 35-33 win over the Denver Broncos sent a reminder to the NFL of just how impactful the former Defensive Rookie of the Year can still be.
“You’re [expletive] right!” Sweat yelled from his nearby locker.
Young had a more measured response, but it was hard to blame Sweat’s enthusiasm. In Young’s season debut, the pass rusher finished with 1½ sacks — matching his entire total from 2021, when he played nine games and suffered a serious knee injury that kept him sidelined for all but three games of the following year. Last year, Young failed to record a sack.
But Young’s knee didn’t hamper him Sunday, nor did the stinger injury that forced him to miss Week 1. Against the Broncos, Young didn’t just look completely healthy — he looked like Chase Young again. The explosive game wrecker who was a no-brainer selection at No. 2 overall in 2020. The disruptive pass rusher who won Defensive Rookie of the Year going away. THAT Chase Young.
“He did remind me a lot of … his rookie year,” Rivera said with a smile Monday.
Young played 47 of the defense’s 66 snaps — one fewer than his counterpart Sweat. That came as a slight surprise given that Rivera said earlier in the week that the pass rusher was going to be on a limited snap count. But Young didn’t appear to be limited on the field: His seven pressures were tied with Sweat for the team high, according to Pro Football Focus.
For the Commanders, seeing Young’s explosiveness translate to an actual game was perhaps the most encouraging sign of the third-year rusher’s season debut. Throughout the training camp, coaches and players saw Young in practice burst off the line with ease. “He was the Chase of old,” defensive line coach Jeff Zgonina said recently. But then Young hurt his neck just four snaps into the preseason — and the injury lingered into the regular season.
On Monday, Rivera raved about Young staying in shape despite weeks of non-contact restrictions. A fresh Young was able to start fast against the Broncos, Rivera said.
After missing so much time, Young played with relentlessness in Denver. On his first sack, he missed quarterback Russell Wilson initially as Wilson stepped up and Broncos tackle Garett Bolles pushed Young upfield. But Young stayed with the play, shedding Bolles and circling back to sack Wilson from behind.
Later, with the Broncos yards from the end zone, Young and Sweat both drove their blockers back to collapse the pocket — resulting in a crunching sack of Wilson on third down. The stop forced the Broncos to settle for a field goal, which proved to be huge for Washington since Denver connected on a Hail Mary as time expired.
“When you’re together every day, all day, all the time, it’s kind of like we’re just in sync,” Young said of his connection with Sweat. “We just know each other. It just feels good being out there with my guy.”
There was a particular importance to Young matching his 2021 sack total in his first game back, Rivera admitted. By reaching that number in his season debut, Rivera said he thought it lifted the “pressure” and expectations that came with Young’s return. “Now he just goes out and plays,” Rivera said.
Months earlier, the Commanders declined Young’s fifth-year option that would have guaranteed him nearly $17.5 million for 2024. The decision to decline the option was based on Young’s shaky injury history, as well as his decline in production after a rookie year that included 7½ sacks, four forced fumbles and three fumble recoveries.
But the Commanders, Rivera has said, made that decision knowing that if Young’s 2023 campaign featured a return to form, then that would be a “really good problem to have.” Though Young is scheduled to be a free agent at the end of the year, the Commanders could look to apply the franchise tag or negotiate a long-term deal to keep him under contract should the situation warrant it.
“To walk away with 1½ sacks, that was pretty (darn) good for him,” Rivera said. “I’m very happy, because of the amount of work he’s put into it. … Things bode very well for him, in my opinion.”
“People are going to — when you up, they’re going to praise you,” Young said. “When you’re down, they’re going to hate you. But I’m right in the middle.”
• Matthew Paras can be reached at mparas@washingtontimes.com.
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