Hogs Haven
ESPN
In early October, the Washington Commanders capped off their fifth game of the season doing what they had done in most of the first four: run the ball well. It led to a double-digit road win at the Los Angeles Chargers.
The Commanders, then 3-2, weren’t in bad shape. But the run game hasn’t been the same since. In their first five games, the Commanders were the NFL’s top rushing team. Over the past three weeks, Washington — now 3-5 — ranks 18th.
The upcoming schedule will provide another pair of tests for the ground game. On Sunday, the Commanders will welcome the Seattle Seahawks (5-2) and their top-ranked run defense in yards per game and per carry. Then, Washington will host the Detroit Lions, who rank fifth in yards per game allowed and 11th in yards per carry allowed.
With Sam Darnold (seventh in QBR at 72.9) and Jaxon Smith-Njigba (NFL-high 819 receiving yards) powering a potent passing game, the Seahawks’ offense is eighth in scoring at 25.6 points per game despite their ineffective run game. Getting it going was an area of focus as Macdonald and his staff self-scouted over the bye.
Kenneth Walker III and Zach Charbonnet combined for 115 of the Seahawks’ 118 rushing yards in their win over the Houston Texans on Monday night, marking the third time in the past four games that Seattle reached triple digits.
That it took 29 attempts by their running backs against Houston was equally telling.
Through eight weeks, no team has a higher designed rush rate than the Seahawks at 47.9%. But only one team has a lower yards-per-carry average than their 3.7.
The Athletic (paywall)
After missing a week to recover from a hamstring injury, Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels will start on Sunday night against the Seattle Seahawks.
Daniels was injured in the third quarter of Washington’s Week 7 loss to the Dallas Cowboys, but testing showed the injury was minor and wouldn’t keep him out for an extended period. Daniels was on the sideline for the Commanders’ subsequent loss, to the Chiefs last Monday night, but he practiced fully this week with the expectation he would return Sunday.
Daniels previously missed two games because of a knee sprain he suffered in the team’s Week 2 loss in Green Bay. Marcus Mariota has started all three games Daniels missed.
NFL.com
Why Tom picked the Seahawks: Because, for the moment, fortune is smiling on the team that paid a top-of-the-market price for a rehabilitated QB and giving a big ol’ frowny face to the team that reached the NFC title game last season. Which brings me to this recent quote from Bobby Wagner: “Last year was...
