The Washington Commanders are set to face the Dallas Cowboys today at 4:25, but they have a significant problem. Injuries.
Injuries have plagued the Commanders all year. After the Packers game, Austin Ekeler was sidelined for the year for an ACL tear. Deatrich Wise Jr. was placed on IR for his quadriceps. Our franchise QB was ruled out for at least two games with a knee injury, in a situation eerily similar to RG3. Then, Javontae Jean-Baptiste went on IR for a pectoral injury, Jonathan Jones was put on IR for a hamstring injury, Terry McLaurin was ruled out for several weeks, and Deebo Samuel was ruled out for today’s game.
How Does This Game Look Now? Offensively, we have Jayden Daniels back, so winning the game is possible. The main caveat is our WR room; looking at it now, it looks like one of the worst in the league by far. The room goes as follows in no order: Luke McCaffrey, Jaylin Lane, and Chris Moore, and sitting on the bench, Robbie Chosen, who was elevated off the practice squad yesterday. Like I said, it looks bad, but there are some things we should highlight about this group.
Luke McCaffrey (photo courtesy Riggo’s Rag)
Luke has scored one touchdown in three of the last four games he’s played, and he has made some huge catches to set up other players for a TD play. He has also been brilliant in the return game this season, bringing multiple returns to the 40-yard line or more, with a long return of 58 yards. Jaylin Lane has yet to get a passing touchdown, but he had his first real glimpse of glory to come with a nasty double move on Tyrique Stevenson for a 37-yard gain.
With more targets with the swarm of offensive injuries, we could see Jaylin Lane take that first big step to becoming the future starter we know he can be outside of the return game. Chris Moore has been hot and cold, but when he’s hot, he’s made some of the biggest plays with Jayden this year. He had a beautiful touchdown grab in the corner of the end zone to score the first TD of the game for the Commanders against the Bears. He makes some splash plays here and there, but needs to really be locked in this game, as his role is even more critical than it’s ever been.
Finally, the last receiver is Robbie Chosen. He hasn’t played much football in the previous few years, bouncing around from team to team. He has had some good seasons in the league, so there’s always a chance he could get some of his swagger back from the 2020 season, when he had over 1,000 receiving yards. I would count much more on the first three receivers mentioned.
Which Receiver Is Most Likely to Step Up? I think the most likely receiver to step up is either Luke McCaffrey or Jaylin Lane; both are young receivers waiting to make an impact. Luke has been beginning to really heat up the last few weeks, so he could be the safe bet, but Jaylin has been buried in the depth chart waiting for his time to shine. Both of these receivers have something on the line, so hopefully they’re focused and get open for Jayden. I like the other two, Moore and Chosen, but it’s the young bucks’ time to sign unless they want to have career games. My guess is Luke will score two touchdowns with some great catches, but Jaylin Lane, with his 4.34-second forty-time speed, will catch a deep bomb from Jayden to set up an endzone player.
Sam Cosmi (photo courtesy NFL)
Some Positives. Commanders fans’ favorite RG Sam Cosmi will start today, making this line even better than it already is. He suffered an ACL tear last year against the Detroit Lions in the divisional round of the NFL playoffs. Jonathan Jones has since been taken off the IR list in Washington. So while the team is gaining injuries, some are being replaced as soon as they get hurt by Adam Peters.
Conclusion. Have the injuries sustained so far this year hampered our abilities and win totals? Yes, it definitely is. We can also blame ourselves for the horrible football that has been played over the last few weeks. The Commanders need to get healthier, but until we can achieve that, some players need to step up and fill in for the players injured at the time, so we can stay in this division race and playoff race as a whole.
I suspect Luke McCaffrey and Jaylin Lane will have the best games of their careers to propel us to victory against the Cowboys.
While it will be a hard challenge to face because of their prolific offense, their defense is also one of, if not the worst, defenses in the league. So anytime I see that man Jayden Daniels take the field, I’ve got five on it! HTTC!
