Washington Commanders quarterback Marcus Mariota (8). Dale Zanine-Imagn Images

Commanders have a problem bigger than injuries

Originally posted on Washington Commanders on SI
By David Harrison | Last updated Sep 29, 2025 11:09 AM ET

There are several areas in life where close counts for something. Football is not one of them. So, while the Washington Commanders only lost by one possession on Sunday despite giving up more than 30 points to an Atlanta Falcons team that was beaten by that amount the previous weekend, the loss is full, and it counts as much as any other.

Backup quarterback Marcus Mariota acknowledged that he missed some plays in his second-straight game leading the Commanders, and that his unit as a whole made their chances of winning harder. So, even though the severely wounded offense put up 27 points on the road, it simply wasn't and isn't enough to sustain winning as 2025 moves forward.

This fact was echoed by an NFL.com story sharing takeaways from every Week 4 game, zeroing in on Washington and its inability to keep up in a shootout.

"Commanders' Balance Isn't Enough to Keep Up"

"In their second straight game without Jayden Daniels, the Commanders played competitively enough to keep things interesting down to the final minute of this contest. Marcus Mariota handled the job like a veteran backup, Deebo Samuel put together a strong performance, relying on his strong hands and enduring athleticism to lead the Commanders in receiving in the absence of Terry McLaurin, and the tandem backfield of Jacory Croskey-Merritt and Chris Rodriguez Jr. teamed up to rush for over 100 yards," Nick Shook acknowledged. "But the combined efforts weren't enough to keep up with Atlanta's number of explosive plays, and a 1-for-8 showing on third down illustrated how much the Commanders miss Daniels and McLaurin. Understandably, the onus falls on the defense for allowing Atlanta to rack up over 400 yards of offense and score on six of 10 possessions. Washington wasn't terrible offensively and had some encouraging moments (i.e., the involvement of receiver Luke McCaffrey). But if they're going to win games with a defense that hasn't stopped anyone since a Week 1 win over New York and didn't record a takeaway until Week 4, the offense will need to produce at a higher rate."

Brett Davis-Imagn Images

The Onus Falls on the Defense

With the defense specifically failing to prevent two road opponents from getting on top of the Commanders on the scoreboard and in the energy departments, it is absolutely critical someone on the offensive side finds a way to inject enough explosive ability to fuel both phases.

With Daniels expected back for Week 5 against the Los Angeles Chargers, perhaps that will be enough, but it is far from certain considering that not only was he the starting quarterback in a lifeless loss to the Green Bay Packers, but that was the very game he was injured in.

Still, a return home for Daniels figures to provide some extra juice, and the desire to keep from falling below .500 for the first time since Week 1 of 2024, should proved a little more.