The Washington Commanders, down 10-0 in the second quarter, were inching towards disaster as Los Angeles Chargers wide receiver Quenton Johnston made a catch at their 27-yard line and moved up to the 23.

That's when safety Quan Martin barreled into the wideout to pop the ball out of his grasp. Marshon Lattimore dove to grab the ball -- marking the Commanders' first fumble recovery of the season -- setting the offense up at their own 26-yard line.

It was all Commanders from there.

The takeaway provided the spark the Commanders desperately needed in Jayden Daniels' first game back as the starting quarterback. The ensuing drive encompassed 74 yards over nine plays and started a stretch of 27 unanswered points and resulted in a 27-10 victory.

And while there are still some rusty spots on both sides of the ball, it was the closest the Commanders looked to the team they were expected to be during the offseason, from the fight to the finish.

The fumble recovery was the turning point for both squads, as the Chargers were moving down the field with ease prior to the turnover. They outgained the Commanders, 179-30, and dominated the time of possession by nearly 15 minutes. Justin Herbert was 11-of-13 on three drives, while the Commanders had just one first down.

After the fumble recovery, the Commanders were in control for most of the afternoon. They put up 389 yards of offense and had 22 first downs in 55 plays. Most of the attention was focused on Daniels, who returned from his knee injury to play his first NFL game in his home state of California. Although it took some time for the quarterback to get revved up, he finished the day with 270 total yards, including eight rushes for 39 yards while sporting a knee brace. He became the first quarterback in NFL history to have 4,000 passing yards and 1,000 rushing yards in his first 20 games.

But rookie Jacory Croskey-Merritt was the catalyst for the unit, recording his first 100-yard game on 14 carries. Croskey-Merritt shrugged off tacklers and shifted through open lanes on the ground, averaging 7.9 yards per carry in addition to two catches for 39 yards. He was named the "LFG Player of the Game" by Tom Brady and scored two touchdowns on the day, bringing his season total up to four.

The defense bent several times, including on a drive that got to the 1-yard line after a fumble on a handoff between Daniels and Croskey-Merritt, but didn't break against Herbert and their top 10 passing offense, largely because of how the defensive front took advantage of the Chargers' injury-riddled offensive line. The defense brought down the Chargers' quarterbacks five times, two of which came from Dorance Armstrong.

For all the good the Commanders did against a team that had a top 10 offense and defense, the team was plagued by another slow start and self-inflicted errors. The Chargers got down to the Commanders' 11-yard line before stalling on a third-and-5. They sent kicker Cameron Dicker out to kick a 29-yard field goal, but Mike Sainristil's offsides penalty gave them a fresh set of downs at the Commanders' 6-yard line. Two plays later, Herbert and McConkey connected for a two-yard touchdown.

The Chargers extended their lead to 10-0 after a three-and-out from the Commanders and were about to tack on at least another three points on their third drive. Johnston's fumble and Lattimore's recovery changed that and gave life to the Commanders. Daniels and rookie Jaylin Lane converted a third-and-16, and a 21-yard pickup by Deebo Samuel moved them to the Chargers' 24-yard line. Croskey-Merritt took over from there with a nine-yard run and 15-yard touchdown.

The Chargers weren't done helping the Commanders stay in the game. A 57-yard punt return touchdown from McConkey was wiped away by a roughing the kicker call that moved the Commanders up from the 2-yard line to the 17. Daniels then uncorked a 50-yard shot to Luke McCaffrey and hit Samuel for another 22 yards, putting Matt Gay in range for a 29-yard field goal that tied the score before halftime.

The Commanders continued to roll from there. They added another touchdown on the opening drive of the third quarter, helped by a 28-yard catch and a five-yard run to the end zone from Croskey-Merritt. Herbert was sacked for a nine-yard loss on the Chargers' ensuing drive, which led to another punt, and Gay tacked on another three with a 36-yard kick.

Daniels and Croskey-Merritt nearly gave the Chargers a way to surge back into it when their handoff was mishandled and picked up by Tier Tart. The Chargers moved down the Commanders' 1-yard line on a 14-play drive that took over seven minutes off the clock. But Jordan Magee burst into the backfield to take down Kimani Vidal for a three-yard loss. Johnny Newton then tipped Herbert's next pass, which allowed Sainristil to grab his second interception of the season.

The Commanders set up at their own 1-yard line and went 99 yards to ice the game. They kept their offense on the field for a fourth-and-7, and Daniels found Samuel near the right corner of the end zone, marking the first time all season that the Chargers had given up more than 21 points.

The Commanders have played unevenly to start the year, switching back and forth between satisfying wins and frustrating losses. Week 5 was another high for the team, as they took down one of the AFC's better teams and got to 3-2 for the second straight season. They have a difficult stretch of games over the next month, including three primetime games against the Chicago Bears, Kansas City Chiefs and Seattle Seahawks.

The Commanders needed something to stabilize them as they tried to fight through injuries and slow starts. Perhaps the fumble recovery that helped flip the switch against the Chargers will be enough to help them even out the roller coaster they've been on to start the year.