Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels addressed the media following Wednesday's practice. Here are four takeaways from the press conference.

1. He wants to keep "breathing confidence" into Jacory Croskey-Merritt.

The botched handoff between Daniels and Croskey-Merritt ended up costing the Commanders the game, but it wasn't the first time Croskey-Merritt had issues with securing the ball. He had another fumble earlier in the game that led to the Bears scoring a touchdown, and he coughed up the ball on a handoff in the previous game against the Los Angeles Chargers.

Croskey-Merritt said he isn't going to let the mistake shake his confidence, but Daniels is also making sure the running back has the right mindset.

"I think you just keep breathing confidence in life and into him," Daniels said. "Obviously, he's going on his sixth or seventh game, but yeah, I mean Bill, he's tremendous man, so we know that he's not going to let that define him."

Daniels and the Commanders know they still need Croskey-Merritt to play at a high level. The rookie is the team's leading rusher with four touchdowns. He's one of several players who have stepped up with Austin Ekeler out for the year, and many metrics point to him being one of the more effective running backs in the league.

And Daniels has no doubts that Croskey-Merritt can still play at a high level.

"He's going to go out there and really make plays when we need to make plays."

2. Chris Moore "has been doing his thing."

With Terry McLaurin just now returning to practice and Noah Brown on Injured Reserve for the next month, Moore is another player who has had to step up in the absence of key offensive players. Monday's game featured his best moment of the season so far, as he caught a 22-yard touchdown pass from Daniels, marking his first score since the 2022 season.

Moore has been working with Daniels since OTAs and has gained the quarterback's trust.

"Chris has been doing his thing," Daniels said. "Obviously, he made a huge catch on Monday and he's a veteran guy, so I'm super excited."

The Commanders will likely need Moore's services again for a while. McLaurin is now on track to make a return in the near future, but Brown is now set to miss at least eight games for the season. If that ends up being the case, Daniels knows he can get the job done.

"I can know I could go out there and trust him and make a play."

3. The offense can "take this thing to another level."

The Commanders' offense has been disjointed to start the 2025 season. Injured players and slow starts have all played a part in that, but the fact remains that the unit has not quite performed up to the standards the players set for themselves in the offseason.

But Daniels took an optimistic approach to assessing the group, believing that the best days are still ahead.

"We got the chance to take this thing to another level," Daniels said. "Obviously, the stats are the stats, but it just says we could score with the best of them, and we can put up points, but we just have to be better with the details and execution."

There have been moments when the Commanders showed flashes of last year's offensive production. They're still a top 10 scoring unit and are currently tied for second in rushing yards per game. Granted, there are still things to work on, such as the bottom 10 rankings in time of possession and third-down conversion rate, but there are foundational pieces the unit can build on once they get in a better rhythm together and bring back more injured players.

"We have to go out there and execute and focus on the little things, the attention to detail, execution at its finest."

4. The wide receiver carousel.

The Commanders have dealt with injuries at several positions, but few positions have been affected quite like the receivers. McLaurin and Brown have been sidelined for extensive periods, leaving Daniels to work with players further down the depth chart or who are recent additions to the roster. Now, Deebo Samuel is dealing with a heel injury, which could require the team to make even more tweaks to the group.

Daniels is choosing to take the changes in stride.

"You want to be conscious of guys and their body and obviously the most important thing is the game, but you try to get those reps as much as possible because you might rep a play one time and you know, [Offensive Coordinator] Kliff [Kingsbury] might call in a game on a critical situation," Daniels said. "You have to go out there and execute it."

Fortunately, players have done their part to step up and make themselves viable options. Aside from Moore, Luke McCaffrey has been a favorite target for Daniels and Marcus Mariota with three touchdown receptions in four games. Rookie Jaylin Lane has also proven himself to be a perimeter threat, although the team envisions him to be most effective as a slot receiver.

The ideal situation is for the Commanders to be at full strength as they try to get more consistent and string together wins. The reality is that this could not be the case for a while, even if McLaurin comes back this week from his quad injury. So, the Commanders will have to make do with the options they have, and they still believe they can have success with those pieces.