The Washington Commanders (2-1) are on the road for the second consecutive week and third time this season, as they face the Arizona Cardinals (1-2) in the desert on Sunday.
Washington is coming off a 38-33 win over the Cincinnati Bengals on Monday Night Football. Quarterback Jayden Daniels had arguably the best single-game performance for a rookie in NFL history, completing 91% of his passes for 254 yards and accounted for three combined touchdowns.
Heading into the matchup with the Cardinals, Washington hasn’t punted since Week 1. The Commanders have scored on all 13 offensive possessions over the past two games, excluding three kneel-downs.
This week, offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury returns to Arizona, where he was the head coach for quarterback Kyler Murray’s first four seasons.
Can the Commanders make it three in a row?
We look at three reasons they should be optimistic ahead of Week 4.
Jayden Daniels
This one is simple. Daniels has put the Commanders on his back through three weeks. While he doesn’t lead Washington in rushing, he is the key to its running attack. Anytime the Commanders need a first down, Daniels often finds a way to get it to keep drives alive, which is a big reason why we haven’t seen much of punter Tress Way.
Over the course of three games, Kingsbury has opened up more of the passing game for Daniels, who kicked the door down on Monday night. His two deep completions to Terry McLaurin were game-changing plays. The 27-yard touchdown pass with two minutes remaining clinched it for Washington.
At some point, Daniels will face adversity, but Washington has no reason to believe he won’t pass that test, too.
Momentum
Momentum means a lot in football. The Commanders enter Sunday riding high after winning their last two games. Some of Washington’s offensive success in unsustainable. The Commanders will eventually turn the ball over and they’ll eventually punt. That will put more stress on Daniels and the offense when that happens because of the defensive struggles.
Washington’s offensive line is playing reasonably well. Last week, other receivers stepped up, such as Luke McCaffrey and Noah Brown. Zach Ertz continues to be a trusted target for Daniels. Kingsbury put more on film for defenses to worry about last week. That should help the Commanders this week as it forces Arizona to prepare for virtually everything.
The Lions’ effect
Hear me out. It’s a recent trend for teams that play the rugged Detroit Lions one week, struggle the following week. The Los Angeles Rams and Lions battled down to the wire in Week 1. The following week, the Cardinals destroyed the Rams, 41-10.
In Week 2, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers narrowly beat the Lions, but in Week 3, the Bucs were shockingly dominated by the Denver Broncos. So, if we go by those recent trends, Arizona could be in for a rough week against Washington. Detroit is a physical team, arguably the NFL’s most physical team, so there is something to their style wearing teams down.