Hail or Fail: A bloody good day for Dan Quinn’s Commanders

Rookie Ashton Jeanty had a few strong runs, including a career-best 18-yard burst, but Las Vegas averaged just 3.3 yards a carry on 28 attempts. Jeanty, the No. 6 pick in the draft, managed five yards on his first five carries before finishing with 63 yards on 17 attempts. It’s too early to declare the former Boise State star a bust, but given the current state of Las Vegas’s offensive line, improvement could be hard to come by.

In addition to shutting down the Raiders’ running game, Washington’s defensive line generated pressure throughout the game on quarterback Geno Smith, who was sacked five times. The Commanders managed to keep tight end Brock Bowers in check, limiting the all-pro to four catches for 38 yards, and they held wide receiver Jakobi Meyers to just 18 yards receiving after his 45-yard catch on the Raiders’ first play from scrimmage. When Smith had time to throw, however, he had a lot of success looking in Tucker’s direction. The third-year pro finished with eight catches for 145 yards and three touchdowns, including a 61-yard score late in the fourth quarter. The previous three wide receivers with at least eight catches for 145 yards and three scores against Washington are Chicago’s DJ Moore (2023), Dallas’s Terrell Owens (2007) and Philadelphia’s Calvin Williams (1993).

“Yeah, probably like you’d expect,” Quinn told reporters after the game when asked what it felt like to get run over by his 6-foot-4, 222-pound quarterback. “You don’t want it to happen, but it was all good.”

“I felt so bad,” Mariota said. “I was trying to hold him up as best as I could, but he bounced up like a champ.”

The moment inspired the Commanders, players said, and Quinn received a game ball to go with the gnarly gash on the bridge of his nose.

Commanders wide receiver Luke McCaffrey, who entered Sunday’s game with one catch for 19 yards, took advantage of some extra playing time with Terry McLaurin on the sideline with a quadriceps injury in the late stages of a blowout. McCaffrey, a third-round pick in 2024, finished with three catches for 56 yards, including a 43-yard catch and run in the fourth quarter that culminated in the first touchdown of his career. McCaffrey’s dad, Ed, who spent the most productive years of his NFL career with the Denver Broncos, scored five touchdowns in 17 career games against the Raiders and caught the first of his 55 career touchdown passes in his 21st game. Luke’s first score came in his 20th game.

After losing running back Austin Ekeler and defensive end Deatrich Wise Jr. to season-ending injuries in their Week 2 loss to the Green Bay Packers and playing without wide receiver Noah Brown and tight end John Bates against the Raiders, the injury bug bit Washington again. The secondary was hit especially hard. Safety Will Harris exited the game and was ruled out with an leg injury. Fellow safety Percy Butler and cornerbacks Trey Amos and Marshon Lattimore also required medical attention.