Rasul Douglas sprinted for the end zone with his new teammates trailing behind him. One of them had a finger pointed toward the sky as Douglas crossed the goal line, and the veteran cornerback did a flip to celebrate the interception to wrap up practice.

He didn't get flak for not sticking the landing...not too much, anyway.

"They just told me next time to do a real backflip," Douglas said with a smile on his face.

There were plenty of reasons for the Commanders' defense to celebrate during Thursday's practice. The unit's speed stood out during the start of training camp, and the pair of turnovers they forced were the highlight of the day. That should please new defensive coordinator Daronte Jones and his staff, as improving their takeaways has been one of the team's main offseason goals. They had 10 in 2025 -- the second fewest in the league behind the New York Jets.

It's only two practice interceptions in July, but it's one of several signs that the Commanders are determined to fix one of the defense's rough patches.

"It's everything for us," head coach Dan Quinn said before practice. "And so, it's the way that we do it."

The Commanders have put creating turnovers as one of their highest priorities since Quinn took over as the head coach, and it was mentioned often in the first few months of his regime. Quinn's defenses with the Dallas Cowboys were some of the best at generating takeaways and had the most in the league from 2021-22.

So far, that success has not carried over to his stint with Washington, as the team has generated just 27 takeaways in two seasons. The Commanders are more hopeful that Jones, who has spent the last three seasons with the Minnesota Vikings, will change that in 2026. There's evidence that the new system, which will borrow concepts from Brian Flores' aggressive style, will be successful. They led the league with 33 takeaways in 2024 and forced the most fumbles in 2025.

The Commanders haven't made a big deal about it publicly, but it's clear they are being intentional about improving their turnover numbers. They practice it during individual drills -- the linebackers were practicing punching the ball out of ball carriers' hands to start the day -- and the players have picked up on the energy Jones and Quinn have provided in meetings. Some of the defensive backs were reminding pass-catchers to hold onto the ball after plays, and a few of the other defensive players joined in on the trash talking.

The mindset is simple: Quinn wants them "to go after it."

"We do things like how many times are we taking shots at the ball, having opportunities and converting on those chances," Quinn said. "So, it's something that's an everyday discussion for us."

The Commanders' defense almost had two interceptions on the opening day of camp as well. Mike Sainristil dropped one in the end zone, and Jordan Magee broke on a pass that resulted in a pass breakup. Washington's defensive players are looking to attack the ball on every play, because they see it as a critical part of their responsibility.

"It's all about the ball," said safety Will Harris. "On the defensive side, our job is producing the ball and giving it to our guys on offense. We've got a bunch of explosive guys on that side, so we need the ball in their hands as much as possible."

When one player gets a turnover, the entire unit celebrates. Earlier in the day before Douglas' interception, safety Malik Spencer also grabbed one on a pass from seventh-round pick Athan Kaliakmanis. All the defensive players on the field celebrated with him, and he got a warm welcome when he jogged back to the sideline.

And the defense knows that when they get the ball back, it means Jayden Daniels gets more opportunities to score, and that is never a bad thing.

"Give the ball to five [Daniels]," Douglas said. "Let him do what he does. Get the ball to the quarterback. Keep the offense on the field, let them get in a rhythm and score a lot of points."

There's been plenty of attention on how the Commanders can surround Daniels with more weapons to improve the offense, but the defense can do its part as well. The Commanders had the second-worst turnover margin per game in 2025 and averaged just .6 takeaways per game. It could have a reverberating effect on the team if the Commanders can fix this issue. Their time of possession would improve, the offense's starting field position would shorten, and there would be less pressure on the offense to score on every possession.

Those were sureties the Commanders needed but did not have in 2025. The hope is that those troubles are in the past.

"That's the key for us," Douglas said. "Just get the ball to him as much as we can."