The Washington Commanders have largely benefitted from open running lanes over the past 28 games since Kliff Kingsbury was named their offensive coordinator, but things have been much muddier for the team's staple of running backs in the last three weeks.

The Commanders know that must change to keep their playoff hopes alive.

"We certainly need to get on track in the best of ways, and I wish I had a better sense to say which ones," head coach Dan Quinn said Tuesday.

Regardless of whether it's a mixture of injuries, scheme, opposing defenses or a mixture of all three, the results from the Commanders' last three losses show that the offense's ground attack, which at one point this season was the best in the league, has struggled to find success. Although the Commanders are third in yards per game for the season, they ranked 20th in their last three games.

Although Monday's results can be partially credited to the score getting away from the Commanders, their 28-7 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs was the most concerning performance to date. They put up a season-low 60 rushing yards, including just 18 in the second half, on 20 carries with an eight-yard run by Marcus Mariota being the longest of the night.

The work has already begun to find a solution, according to Quinn.

"We didn't love the targeting in the game for us," Quinn said of the Chiefs game. "That's a fancy term for who has who, and that's a common thing. Defense that's got multiple fronts and different looks, but we've got to be able to nail those down and make it really clean and really fast for us to go hit those targets."

The Commanders felt that they had a strong plan for how to run the ball during the offseason. While they traded Brian Robinson Jr. to the San Francisco 49ers for a 2026 Day 3 pick, they liked their options with Austin Ekeler, rookie Jacory Croskey-Merritt and Jeremy McNichols. Deebo Samuel Jr. and Jayden Daniels were also components to the ground attack; the former could be used out of the backfield as well as on jet sweeps, while Daniels' legs remain an integral part of his skill set.

The results have been more mixed than expected, particularly in the last three weeks. Some of that is because of how games against the Chiefs and Dallas Cowboys played out, as they were down multiple scores in both losses. Offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury said that was the case during the loss to the Chiefs. He liked the way the running backs played, although he acknowledged that the running game is "an area we have to improve upon."

Rodriguez believes getting a better hold on the finer details will help get the running game back on track. He still has confidence in himself and the position group, but he admitted that their consistency could be better.

"Consistent in our reads, consistent in our cuts," Rodriguez said. "Just paying attention to the finest little details."

The Commanders have also lacked explosive plays on the ground with just three running plays with gains of at least 15 yards during their losing streak. However, in fairness to the offense, the lack of consistent options at wide receiver has allowed opposing defenses to overcommit to the Commanders' run game. Croskey-Merritt, for example, has faced eight-man boxes on 29.27% of his runs. Quinn's solution: keep trying, even if it means settling for minimal gains at times.

"There are hard runs to go...for one or zero," Quinn said. "It can be frustrating, but you just dig, and you keep banging for it and you stay into that spot."

Rodriguez said it ultimately doesn't matter how many players defenses put in the box. He and the rest of the running backs still need to do their job.

"We just gotta be prepared for whatever they throw at us," he said.

That will be particularly true during this weekend's game against the Seattle Seahawks, who allow the fewest rushing yards per game. The 49ers are the only team to surpass 100 rushing yards against them in their Week 1 matchup.

As difficult as it might be, the Commanders will have to find a way to break through the Seahawks to have a chance at snapping their losing streak.

"It has to be a bigger part of our game," Quinn said.