This week we’re joined by Andrew York of our Commanders sister site, Hogs Haven, to help preview this week’s matchup with the Chargers.
The Commanders are 2-2 after falling to the Falcons in Week Four while the Chargers are also coming off a loss — their first of the season — to the Giants on the road. Now back at home, the Bolts will look to right the wrong they hoped to avoid a week ago.
Let’s go ahead and get to know this week’s opponent from someone who knows them best!
1.) Quarterback Jayden Daniels
is set to return to the field against the Chargers this week. How much more confidence do you have in the team’s chance of winning now compared to a Marcus Mariota-led offense?
Washington fans have a lot of confidence in Marcus Mariota. He was made one of the league’s highest-paid backups (at $8M/year) precisely because the team believes he is a very high-level backup and he’s shown it so far. Last week against the Falcons’ excellent, re-made defense he managed a QBR of 72.4, which made him the 12th ranked QB by QBR in Week 4. He also led the offense to score 27 points on the Falcons, which is the most scored by an opposing offense on the Falcons this season (the Panthers scored 30, but that included a defensive TD). Mariota is a mobile, accurate QB with a similar playstyle as Jayden Daniels and is able to execute the full offense in his place, but he lacks Jayden’s ability to convert downs when nothing is open, particularly through scrambles. Overall, I’d say Mariota is able to get what is made available by the offense, but Jayden is able to extend plays and create gains even when nothing seems open. That being said, we’ll have to see how capable Jayden is if he’s playing with a knee brace on Sunday.
2.) The Commanders are the league’s second-ranked rushing offense. How have they managed to be so successful in running the football this season?
I think it starts with the rushing threat of the QB (whether Jayden Daniels or Marcus Mariota). Not only do they contribute by rushing themselves (Jayden Daniels had the 2nd-most QB rushing yards in 2024), but their threat to run causes defenses to pay extra attention to where the ball is going, treating the QB as a 2nd RB and having to maintain eye discipline and pause their rush until they know the ball carrier. In addition to that, the offensive line blocking has been great. OC Kliff Kingsbury ran an effective gap blocking scheme in Arizona, but Run Game Coordinator Anthony Lynn has also brought some of the Shanahan outside zone blocking from the 49ers and this OL seems to be executing it well. Credit there goes to the coaches and players for doing a good job of blocking and opening up holes.
Last but not least, I have to mention the underrated RBs who have made the most of their opportunities. 7th-round rookie Jacory Croskey-Merritt (he goes by “Bill” Merritt) has looked like the most explosive RB who is always a big-play threat and currently leads the NFL in rate of runs of 5+ yards. Journeyman veteran Jeremy McNichols is one of the best pass-protecting RBs in the NFL and initially looked to take over 3rd down work after Austin Ekeler tore his achilles, but McNichols has been running hard and angry enough that I think he’ll get more between-the-tackles work as well. And last but not least, Chris Rodriguez Jr was a 6th-round pick by Washington in the 2023 draft and mostly operated as a short-yardage back, but trained hard to increase his speed in the offseason and has now earned an equal share of the carries.
3.) If you were Chargers offensive coordinator Greg Roman, how would you go about attacking this Commanders defense? Which players/matchups would you try to exploit?
A lot of the Commanders pass defense has looked exploitable in the last few weeks. The matchups I would particularly try to exploit are matching speedy WRs on CB Marshon Lattimore (who looks to have lost some of his speed with age/injury and has become grabby to compensate for it) and matching up pass-catching TEs and RBs on LB Bobby Wagner (who is 35 years old and has become a liability in coverage, though he’s still good at calling the defense and making tackles). The Commanders run defense is much improved from last year; not elite, but more competent than the pass defense.
4.) If you were Chargers defensive coordinator Jesse Minter, how would you attempt to stop Daniels and this rushing attack? What other players should you circle in red?
Do your best to get pressure rushing 4 while maintaining lane discipline and dropping the rest back in zone coverage, which will help neutralize the threat of QB runs and take a dimension out of the offense. With Terry McLaurin still unlikely to play, expect the ball to go to Deebo Samuel or Zach Ertz in the passing game most of the time. In terms of stopping the rushing attack, the best defense seems to be a good offense. OC Kliff Kingsbury has been quick to abandon the run game when down by two scores in the past 4 weeks.
5.) What injuries on the Commanders should Chargers fans know about? Any noteworthy names? How will those injuries (if at all) potentially affect the outcome of this game?
Staying healthy was an under-rated part of making the NFC Championship last year, but this year’s Commanders have been much less healthy. The Commanders have already lost DE Deatrich Wise (torn quad), RB Austin Ekeler (torn achilles), and S Will Harris (broken fibula) to long-term IR, and each of those players were considered starters and impact players. The team has also lost All Pro WR Terry McLaurin (quad) to a multi-week injury. Jayden Daniels will be playing on a sprained knee, which may affect his performance, and WR Deebo Samuel (heel) and starting slot CB Mike Sainristil (knee) are recent additions to the injury report who have not practiced so far this week as of when I write this Thursday night. If Jayden Daniels is limited by his knee injury and Terry McLaurin and Deebo Samuel (the two biggest threats in the receiving game) sit out, the passing offense will be severely limited.
