Hogs Haven
The Commanders were reeling after a tough road loss in Week 4 to a team that many expected them to beat. Fan confidence began to crumble after the defense gave Michael Penix and the Falcons’ offense the get right win they needed.
Hogs Haven discussion threads were rife with questions about Joe Whitt’s job security and Adam Peters’ new Over the Hill Gang. How would the offense, missing Jayden Daniels’ number one playmaker, hold up against the Chargers’ defense, which ranked 3rd in the league in EPA/play? Would the Commanders’ 24th ranked defense be able to contain Justin Herbert and Omarion Hampton? Would Joe Whitt’s seat heat up after another disappointing performance?
The answers couldn’t have been better. After a slow start, Jayden Daniels returned to 2024 form. Rookie RB Bill Croskey-Merritt had his breakout performance. And they were backed by standout performances on both sides of the ball and special teams.
The Commanders’ defense held the Chargers to 10 pts and 181 passing yards, with a performance that ranked 4th in the league in EPA/play (-0.157) and opponent success rate (38.5%) in Week 5, with 2 critical takeaways. Meanwhile, standout performances by Jayden, Bill and Deebo led the Commanders to a top 5 finish in Offensive Success Rate (56.9%) and a 6th place weekly ranking in EPA/play (0.251).
As attention turns to the Monday Night Football matchup with the Chicago Bears, let’s have a look at the individual performances which helped the Commanders right the ship.
Jayden took a while to warm up in his return from injury. In the first quarter, he completed 1/3 passes for 7 yds. By halftime, that was up to 6/9 for 122 yds. And by the third quarter, he was playing like last season. He finished the game with 15 comp/26 att (57.7% at 10.5 yd ADOT), 231 yds, 1 TD, 1 sack for 5 yds. On the ground, he added 39 yds/8 attempts (4.9 Y/A) with 2 first downs. It was his best game of the season in practically every statistical category, which might have something to do with his protection being much improved. According to Pro Football Reference (PFR), he experienced pressure on just 3.1% of dropbacks, down from 25% in Week 2 and 10.5% in Week 1.
Jayden’s 71.8 Total QBR was his best mark of the season (previous high 51.6 in Week 1), and ranked 9th best in the league in Week 5.
It turns out Bill Croskey-Merritt’s Pepsi Rookie of the Week performance in Week 1 was just the warm-up. He had his breakout game against the Chargers, rushing for 111 yds on 14 carries (7.9 Y/A), 6 first downs and 2 TDs, with 3 forced missed tackles and 1 unforced fumble for a turnover. That performance was good for a 71.4% rushing success rate. Bill averaged 2.64 YBC/att, which is the most free running room he’s had since Week 1.
He also caught 2/2 passes for 39 yds.
Chris Rodriguez ran for just 7...
