Competition has been a central, ongoing theme for the Washington Commanders since head coach Dan Quinn took the helm last season. He preaches continued internal battles among position groups, so it was no surprise when Washington turned to competition to determine who would start at the left and right guard positions to beef up a struggling offensive line.

Through two weeks, Washington's offensive line allowed the Green Bay Packers 33 pressures, six sacks and 23 quarterback hits on Jayden Daniels. Those statistics, combined with the loss of tight end John Bates to a groin injury, pushed the Commanders to shake up the offensive line for Week 3 against the Las Vegas Raiders to ensure a cleaner pocket.

"We really made a competition, the biggest part of it," Quinn said. "We changed both spots at guard with Nick [Allegretti] and Brandon [Coleman]. They're a big part of what we do, but that is the central theme of where we're at. We're still in the early days here to get going, and competition's part of who we are in all ways, in all shapes and sizes. So, inside at guard, 'Hey, we're going to go a different way,' doesn't mean where we're at for not making any statement or message. Trust me on that. This is what we're doing right today, and we'll keep digging, man. That's what competing is about, and you just keep battling to find it, and we'll continue to do that."

Left guard Chris Paul got the news he won the competition and would be starting at left guard in Washington's Week 3 game against the Las Vegas Raiders "earlier to mid-week." Although the 2022 seventh-round draft pick hadn't started a game since Week 15 of the 2023 season, he remained confident in his skills and knew his time would come with continued work.

"It was definitely sort of like, this is a go-time moment and just sort of reminding myself that I'm built for this and I belong here," Paul said.

Aside from Paul stepping in, the Commanders also moved Andrew Wylie from right tackle to the right guard spot to support rookie right tackle Josh Conerly Jr. The risks involved with the changes paid off across the board -- the offensive line put up a nearly perfect stat line against Las Vegas. According to PFF, Washington's offensive line had zero sacks, two hurries and just two pressures in the win.

Paul contributed immensely to the offensive line's success against the Raiders, which in turn led Washington to a 41-24 victory. He was the second-highest graded offensive linemen for Washington, finishing with an overall PFF grade of 86.0 behind All-Pro left tackle Laremy Tunsil (88.0). Over the course of 26 pass-blocking snaps, he didn't allow a single sack, pressure, quarterback hit, or hurry.

"It was a blessing, an absolute major opportunity for me," Paul said of his performance against the Raiders. "I just definitely saw a lot of growth, and I saw a lot of the work that I intentionally put in this offseason come to fruition. I just look forward to growing even more and identifying vulnerabilities in my game, identifying the strengths in my game and expressing those."

Paul's overall grade and 82.9 run blocking grade both led all guards league-wide heading into Week 4, a success he attributes to continuing to believe in himself and working on all facets of his craft.

"I think I've just definitely grown the most in terms of just core work, in terms of just film study and a lot of things in this game, as people have mentioned time and time again, just come with that experience and doing it over and over again like feeling that sensation of those thoughts or feeling the sensation of that specific look," Paul said. "I think I just took it upon myself to hone in on all of those things over and over and over again to surround myself with a lot of other offensive lineman this offseason as well to just pick their brains and tell them I'm a sponge."

There were no additional changes to the Commanders' offensive line in its Week 4 game against the Atlanta Falcons. Paul had his work cut out for him protecting quarterback Marcus Mariota on Sunday afternoon from Atlanta's pass rush, as the Falcons ranked No. 8 in quarterback pressure rate (40.4%) ahead of the game. Opposing quarterbacks don't have much success against Atlanta either, limiting quarterbacks to a 76.0 passer rating (fourth-worst in the NFL).

"The Atlanta Falcons, they're very talented, twitchy and fast entering the interior, so this is going to be a great challenge for us and I'm just really excited to play a game with these guys," Paul said ahead of the game. "Again, I'm just super excited for the opportunity to keep this thing going."

Paul played every snap in the Commanders' eventual 34-27 loss to the Falcons. He had another stellar showing at left guard with two pressures and two sacks allowed on Mariota for an overall grade of 73.2. As long as Paul continues to perform, he will continue to win the left guard position competition and is poised to make the start at SoFi Stadium for the team's ensuing matchup against the Los Angeles Chargers.