A week ago, the Washington Commanders got knocked down (metaphorically) on primetime television in Green Bay. Ten days later, without the services of franchise quarterback Jayden Daniels (knee sprain), they dusted themselves off and got back into the fight.
Against the Las Vegas Raiders, Commanders head coach Dan Quinn got knocked down (literally) during a play just before halftime. The 55-year-old was flattened by friendly fire during the final seconds of the first half when quarterback Marcus Mariota scrambled to get out of bounds and plowed into him accidentally.
Taking a page from his own players, Quinn popped right back up, bloodied from the collision, and immediately returned his focus to the matter at hand. Only after the Commanders had successfully converted a 56-yard field goal attempt and everyone headed to the locker room, did Quinn finally allow the medical staff to check on him.
“He’s everything that he preaches to us,” said linebacker Bobby Wagner. “We feel like we saw that in the moment. You got knocked down, got hit pretty hard. You got no pads on, nothing.
“It was kind of like a movie,” Wagner added.
Following their head coach’s example, the Commanders aggressively attacked the Raiders in a lopsided 41-24 affair, which Washington led 34-10 before letting off the gas and allowing the visiting Raiders to score a pair of meaningless fourth quarter touchdowns.
In his first start since 2023, Mariota completed 15 of 21 attempts (71.4 percent) for 207 yards with one touchdown, no interceptions and a 118.6 QB rating while leading Washington’s offense to six scoring drives and more than 400 yards of total offense.
But before Mariota even stepped on the field against his former team, wideout Deebo Samuel set the tone with a 69-yard return, the longest of his career, on the opening kickoff that provide excellent field position for Washington’s first drive. Four plays later, the veteran quarterback dove into the end zone for a 7-0 lead.
Rookie receiver Jaylin Lane became Washington’s first player to return a punt for a touchdown since Jamison Crowder in 2016, and the franchise’s first rookie to do so since Desmond Howard in 1992. In total, Washington’s special teams unit contributed with 245 total return yards.
With Mariota and friends supplying sufficient offense and the special teams unit having a day to remember, the Commanders defense was given the green light to rachet up the pressure on Raiders quarterback Geno Smith, who was pressured on 64.7 percent of his dropbacks, despite Washington blitzing just 11.8 percent of the time, per TruMedia. The Commanders finished the day with five sacks, but could have had several more had Smith not been able to slip through the hands of a would-be tacklers on multiple occasions.
Raiders running back Ashton Jeanty, the sixth pick in the draft, ran 17 times for just 63 yards. Brock Bowers, arguably the best tight end in football today, caught just four passes for 38 yards.
On second and five at the Washington 40-yard line late in the second quarter, unheralded running back Jeremy McNichols was handed the ball and immediately met with multiple defenders. For reasons that remain unclear, none of those four defenders actually did much defending. Four broken tackles later the 29-year-old veteran turned what should have been a three-yard gain into a 60-yard touchdown — the longest run of his career and Washington’s longest touchdown run since Adrian Peterson in 2018.
For the day, Washington rushed 32 times for 201 yards and three touchdowns (an average of 6.3 yards per carry). Seventh-round pick Jacory Croskey-Merritt, who was selected six rounds and 239 picks later than Jeanty, is arguably off to a better start this season than his higher profile contemporary.