Washington (2-2) has been on the win-loss-win-loss train.
The Los Angeles Chargers (3-1) were cruising until last week’s surprising loss to the Jaxson Dart-led New York Giants.
Keys:
What Jayden Daniels Will Show Up?
Daniels has been cleared and will start this Sunday. Will Daniels be 100% physically? Will he be confident enough in his health to take time off when needed?
The Chargers will test Daniels with a mix of pressures to see how nimble he is.
That should mean that Washington’s receivers should have one-on-one opportunities to make plays. Terry McLaurin and Noah Brown are out, so others will need to step up and deliver.
Deebo Samuels and Luke McCaffrey should have plenty of opportunities to have the ball in their hands.
Pass Rush Please
Last week, Washington registered two hits against Michael Penix Jr. Before the Washington game, Penix Jr. had struggled but got healthy at home.
Justin Herbert wasn’t good against the Giants, and now he has a home date against a Commanders’ defense that has been flat. The Giants registered 12 QB Hits, and it showed. Yes, Quentin Johnston had a solid game, but for the most part, the deep passes weren’t there.
30 Rush Attempts
Washington has to find a way to run the ball effectively. Against the Falcons, the Commanders only had 22 rushing attempts.
That’s not going to get it done, so Kliff Kingsbury needs to find a way to get in situations where Chris Rodriguez Jr. and Jacory Merritt-Croskey can get double-digit carries plus whatever they get out of Daniels in the running game.
