The Washington Commanders improved their record to 3-2 on Sunday by rallying to take down the Los Angeles Chargers, 27-10. Here are five takeaways from the victory.
1. JD5 was back in business.
There was a lot of handwringing from the fans when head coach Dan Quinn announced that Jayden Daniels would be active but wearing a knee brace against the Chargers. The medical team had given him the green light, but he still needed to perform in a game scenario against one of the league's best defenses.
Fans can now take a breath, as Daniels looked like his old self with 270 total yards and a passing touchdown. It did take some time for him to shake off the rust of being sidelined for two weeks, but a 16-yard completion on third-and-16 to Jaylin Lane seemed to get him in a groove. He followed that up with a 50-yard shot to Luke McCaffrey later in the second quarter and an eight-yard throw to Deebo Samuel for a touchdown in the fourth quarter to ice the game.
Daniels also had eight carries for 39 yards, showing that neither he nor the coaching staff had any concerns about his knee. He weaved around pressure and extended plays with his legs but also played it safe at times by sliding to avoid extra hits.
Daniels made history on Sunday, becoming the first NFL quarterback to record 4,000-plus yards passing and 1,000-plus rushing yards in his first 20 career games. He might not like to wear the brace, but there won't be any complaints as long as he continues to make plays.
2. Bill paid the bills.
Daniels wasn't the only offensive player giving the Chargers fits on Sunday. The Commanders also gave Jacory Croskey-Merritt a heavier workload in Week 5, and the rookie stepped up to the challenge.
Despite getting just 28 snaps and touching the ball 16 times, Croskey-Merritt was the most productive skill player on the field Sunday afternoon with 150 yards and two rushing touchdowns. He put up a career-high 111 yards on 14 carries, highlighted by a 27-yard run after shrugging off Derwin James at the line of scrimmage. His only mistake was a fumble on a handoff in the fourth quarter, but he followed that up by rushing for 34 yards on the Commanders' final touchdown drive of the day.
Croskey-Merritt is the first Washington rookie with at least 150 scrimmage yards and two rushing touchdowns since RB Alfred Morris in Week 17 of the 2012 season, but his success through five games goes further than that. He is third among his fellow rookie running backs in rushing yards (283) and leading all running backs with at least 40 attempts in yards per carry (6.6). He has faced the ninth-most eight-man boxes, per NextGenStats, but Pro Football Focus has given him the best rushing grade in the league.
The hype surrounding Croskey-Merritt continues to grow by the week, and he could have another strong day next week against the Chicago Bears, who give up the most yards per rush in the league.
3. Two game-changing turnovers from the defense.
The Commanders have stressed the importance of generating turnovers for weeks. They only had one heading into Week 5, but the two they got against the Chargers were game-changing moments for the Burgundy & Gold.
The first came in the second quarter, when the Commanders were on the brink of going down 17-0. Quan Martin dislodged the ball from Quenton Johnston's grasp, allowing Marshon Lattimore to fall on it and give the Commanders the ball at their own 26-yard line. The play ignited the Commanders' offense, which went down the field and scored on a nine-play drive to cut the Chargers' lead from 10 to three points.
The next turnover helped douse momentum the Chargers fought to gain back following Croskey-Merritt's fumble. They got as close as the 1-yard line on their ensuing drive, but Mike Sainristil took advantage of a tipped pass and grabbed his second interception of the season, keeping the Commanders' two-score lead intact.
It wasn't a completely perfect day for the Commanders defense, but the unit didn't break at key moments and provided the team with the opportunities to swing the game back into its favor and keep it there.
4. The team put the pressure on Justin Herbert.
Part of the reason why the Chargers and their top 10 offense couldn't counter the Commanders' comeback was because Herbert was hounded with pressure all afternoon.
The Commanders exploited a weakened Chargers offensive line that only got worse throughout the game. As the Chargers continued to lose starters up front, the Commanders continued to dial up pressure, which led to five sacks on Herbert. Dorance Armstrong was a star once again, as he notched two sacks and brought his season total to five. Armstrong is now tied for the second-most sacks in the league.
The Commanders were determined to upgrade their pass rush this offseason and invested a significant amount of their cap space to do so. Although they're down Deatrich Wise Jr. and Javontae Jean-Baptiste, the Commanders are tied with the Los Angeles Rams for the third-most sacks in the league. They'll face a difficult task next week against the Bears, who have allowed just seven sacks through four games.
5. A necessary victory.
It's difficult to label any game early in the season as a "must-win" situation. The Commanders' matchup doesn't fall into that category with 12 games left on the schedule, but there's an argument to be made that it was necessary that they played well against one of the top teams in the AFC.
The Commanders have been on a roller coaster for the past month. Convincing wins against the New York Giants and Las Vegas Raiders were followed by frustrating losses against the Green Bay Packers and Atlanta Falcons. Those losses were plagued by slow starts for both sides of the ball and disjointed stretches from the offense. Some of that was a credit to the sheer number of injured players on the roster, but the coaches and players also admitted they weren't playing up to their standard.
In many ways, Sunday's victory was a return to the 2024 version of the Commanders. In fairness, it took a 10-point deficit for them to get going, but they found ways to stay competitive with their two turnovers. Their offense scored 27 unanswered points against the Chargers, which boasted the fourth-best scoring defense heading into the matchup. What's more, their younger players and offseason investments showed up with McCaffrey's 50-yard reception and Samuel leading the team with 96 yards on eight catches.
There are times when teams just need a win to even things out. Perhaps mounting a comeback against a talented Chargers team and leaving Los Angeles with a convincing 17-point victory is exactly what the Commanders needed to go on a run.
