The Washington Commanders are entering the make-or-break part of their season, with a record of 3-3 and four extremely challenging games on their schedule upcoming.
This starts with a road trip to the Dallas Cowboys in Week 7, and it needs to be Washington's get-right game.
The Commanders will have to do it without Terry McLaurin and Noah Brown. They might also be without Deebo Samuel Sr. Given all of that, there's one player who can make a substantial difference.
Jacory Croskey-Merritt.
Commanders will be relying on rookie running back Jacory Croskey-Merritt more than ever
If you were told back in May or June that the Commanders' fate in 2025 would hinge upon a seventh-round rookie, you'd have called it crazy. But here we are.
Croskey-Merritt wasted no time becoming the fan favorite of the offseason this past summer. His performance throughout minicamp and training camp gave fans cautious optimism that the Commanders had secured a potential steal. Shortly after preseason rolled around, Washington traded starting running back Brian Robinson Jr. to the San Francisco 49ers, opening the door for the man they call Bill to have a featured role.
The potential has indeed been shown. Croskey-Merritt has already had a couple of massive outings — in Week 1 (82 rushing yards and a touchdown) and Week 5 (150 all-purpose yards and two scores). But he's also been plagued by inconsistent usage and a sudden fumbling problem, with two turnovers in the past two games.
Early in the season, the Commanders opted to take a running back by committee approach, which was why Croskey-Merritt didn't receive more than 10 carries in any of Washington's first four contests. There were concerns about his pass blocking and ability to catch out of the backfield, so he split time with Jeremy McNichols and Chris Rodriguez Jr., even after Austin Ekeler tore his Achilles in Week 2.
In the past two games, Croskey-Merritt has been the workhorse. After his breakout performance against the Los Angeles Chargers, he saw a season-high 17 carries against the Chicago Bears on Monday Night Football. He only amassed 61 yards on the ground and had a costly first-quarter fumble against the league's second-worst rushing defense entering the night.
Without a doubt, it was his most disappointing game of the campaign, which says a lot about how rapid his progression has been. If a seventh-round pick can have a disappointing game less than two months into his career, he's already well ahead of schedule. But it also shows how much better Croskey-Merritt can be.
Week 7 will be another opportunity for the Commanders' rushing attack — and the offense in general — to make mincemeat out of their opponent. The Cowboys' defense is meme-worthy bad after trading All-Pro edge rusher Micah Parsons before the year because Jerry Jones is a petty old man. Free points, and lots of them, are up for grabs.
With the Commanders' wide receiver room banged up, it'll fall on Kliff Kingsbury to establish the run early and often. Croskey-Merritt will need to make a significant impact this week and every week moving forward for Washington to make another playoff push.