How the Washington Football Team can win the NFC East in 2020

1. Unleash a potentially fearsome pass rush.

The hiring of defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio was complimented by the fact that the team would be making the switch to 4-3 defense. And that could add up to some pretty bad news for the likes of Philadelphia’s Carson Wentz, Dallas’ Dak Prescott and the New York Giants’ Daniel Jones, who will be facing quite the formidable lineup twice during the regular season.

There is veteran Ryan Kerrigan, who was limited to 12 starts and contests in 2019 after not missing a game in his first eight seasons. He’s racked up 90 sacks and 26 forced fumbles while being named to four Pro Bowls.

There’s 2019 team sack leader Matt Ioannidis (8.5), followed by Montez Sweat (7) — the team’s second first-round pick a year ago — as well as Jonathan Allen (6). And in April, Washington used the second overall pick in the draft to land fearsome Ohio State defensive and Chase Young. The latter could make Sweat even more effective (via Nicki Jhabvala of the Washington Post).

Del Rio inherits a team that managed 46 sacks and a respectable 22 takeaways. But the club also gave up 49 offensive touchdowns (35 through the air) and were 31st in the NFL vs. the run. But could an even more potent pass rush lead to more opponent miscues?