Bolts From The Blue
This week we’re joined by Andrew York of our Commanders sister site, Hogs Haven, to help preview this week’s matchup with the Chargers.
The Commanders are 2-2 after falling to the Falcons in Week Four while the Chargers are also coming off a loss — their first of the season — to the Giants on the road. Now back at home, the Bolts will look to right the wrong they hoped to avoid a week ago.
Let’s go ahead and get to know this week’s opponent from someone who knows them best!
1.) Quarterback Jayden Daniels is set to return to the field against the Chargers this week. How much more confidence do you have in the team’s chance of winning now compared to a Marcus Mariota-led offense?
Washington fans have a lot of confidence in Marcus Mariota. He was made one of the league’s highest-paid backups (at $8M/year) precisely because the team believes he is a very high-level backup and he’s shown it so far. Last week against the Falcons’ excellent, re-made defense he managed a QBR of 72.4, which made him the 12th ranked QB by QBR in Week 4. He also led the offense to score 27 points on the Falcons, which is the most scored by an opposing offense on the Falcons this season (the Panthers scored 30, but that included a defensive TD). Mariota is a mobile, accurate QB with a similar playstyle as Jayden Daniels and is able to execute the full offense in his place, but he lacks Jayden’s ability to convert downs when nothing is open, particularly through scrambles. Overall, I’d say Mariota is able to get what is made available by the offense, but Jayden is able to extend plays and create gains even when nothing seems open. That being said, we’ll have to see how capable Jayden is if he’s playing with a knee brace on Sunday.
2.) The Commanders are the league’s second-ranked rushing offense. How have they managed to be so successful in running the football this season?
I think it starts with the rushing threat of the QB (whether Jayden Daniels or Marcus Mariota). Not only do they contribute by rushing themselves (Jayden Daniels had the 2nd-most QB rushing yards in 2024), but their threat to run causes defenses to pay extra attention to where the ball is going, treating the QB as a 2nd RB and having to maintain eye discipline and pause their rush until they know the ball carrier. In addition to that, the offensive line blocking has been great. OC Kliff Kingsbury ran an effective gap blocking scheme in Arizona, but Run Game Coordinator Anthony Lynn has also brought some of the Shanahan outside zone blocking from the 49ers and this OL seems to be executing it well. Credit there goes to the coaches and players for doing a good job of blocking and opening up holes.
*Last but not least, I have to mention the underrated RBs who have made the most...
