On Sunday, quarterback Jayden Daniels returned both from a knee injury and to his native Southern California, steering the Washington Commanders (3-2) to victory over the Los Angeles Chargers (3-2).
Los Angeles’ proliferation of penalties, injuries and turnovers aided the Commanders’ efforts. Rookie running back Jacory Croskey-Merritt starred with 111 rush yards and 2 touchdowns.
The game did not start well for Washington, though. The Chargers got the ball first and tore down the field. Wide receiver Ladd McConkey caught a pass in the end zone from quarterback Justin Herbert to cap off a 9-play, 76-yard drive to open the game, making it 7-0 for the Chargers with 9:49 left in the first quarter.
The Commanders then went three and out before Los Angeles drove down the field again. Cameron Dicker kicked a field goal to make it 10-0 for the Chargers with 2:57 left in the first.
Another quick punt from Washington gave the ball back to the Chargers, who again marched into opposing territory with ease and were on the verge of scoring. Then, at the Commanders’ 23-yard line, safety Quan Martin punched the ball out of wide receiver Quentin Johnston’s hands, and cornerback Marshon Lattimore recovered the fumble for the Commanders.
The Commanders’ offense came to life. Passes to rookie receiver Jaylin Lane and receiver Deebo Samuel followed by a Daniels scramble led the team into Chargers territory, before Croskey-Merritt broke free for a 15-yard touchdown run, shrinking the Commanders’ deficit to just 3 points with 4:15 left in the half.
The Chargers then punted, pinning Washington on their own 7-yard line. After 2 incompletions and a sack, the Commanders punted out of their own endzone, which McConkey returned for a touchdown. However, the referees called Chargers linebacker Marlowe Wax for roughing the kicker, negating the score and giving Washington a fresh set of downs.
On the next play, receiver Luke McCaffrey caught a Daniels deep ball for a 50-yard completion, continuing the receiver’s hot start to his sophomore season. Matt Gay capped the drive off with a field goal as time expired. Los Angeles went into the half tied with the Commanders 10-10.
Opening the third quarter, Croskey-Merritt led the way with a 28-yard rush and an 11-yard catch before punching in a 5-yard run for another score, giving Washington a 17-10 lead with 10:58 to go in the 3rd.
On the drive following Croskey-Merritt’s second touchdown, defensive tackle Johnny Newton got through for a sack, and an illegal formation penalty negated a 31-yard Keenan Allen catch and forced the Chargers to punt again.
Croskey-Merritt ran for 27 yards on the first play of the next drive, setting up another Gay field goal to make it 20-10 Washington with 5:49 to go in the third quarter.
On the following Chargers drive, they found more success, but, facing a 4th-and-2 from the Commanders’ 39-yard line, LA head coach Jim Harbaugh went for it instead of giving the ball to Dicker for a 56-yard field goal attempt. On the play, Herbert passed incomplete to tight-end Tyler Conklin while running back Omarion Hampton hurt his ankle, adding injury to insult.
Following the turnover-on-downs, Croskey-Merritt, in the only blemish on his otherwise impeccable performance, fumbled on the first play of the fourth quarter, giving the Chargers possession on their own 43-yard line.
The next drive began well for the Chargers. Allen and Johnston caught passes, leading the team to Washington’s 1-yard line. On third and goal, however, disaster struck again. Herbert’s pass, intended for Allen at the front of the endzone, was tipped by Newton, and cornerback Mike Sainristil intercepted it.
Daniels then orchestrated a 13-play, 99-yard drive, culminating in a marvelous fadeaway throw to Samuel in the back right corner of the endzone. This made it 27-10 Commanders with 1:08 left to play, killing any hope of a comeback for the Chargers.
The Chargers’ own ailments leave some debate as to how good a performance it was from the Commanders. What is not debatable is that the Commanders are 3-2 and one game behind the Philadelphia Eagles for the NFC East lead going into Monday night’s matchup with the Chicago Bears (2-2), a rematch of last season’s game, which ended with Daniels’ famous “Hail Maryland” walkoff touchdown pass.
