Commanders have a Week 5 breakout brewing and the league has no idea

The Washington Commanders have been decimated by injuries this season. Head coach Dan Quinn is trying to weather the storm, but he'll be without two key offensive playmakers once again during their challenging road game against the Los Angeles Chargers this weekend.

Second-team All-Pro wide receiver Terry McLaurin and Noah Brown won't be traveling to Los Angeles after already being ruled out. Sam Cosmi doesn't make the trip either, but nobody expected him to after having the prolific right guard's 21-day window opened this week.

Washington is desperately short of dependable options in the passing game. Deebo Samuel Sr., who has been a significant bright spot since joining the Commanders via trade from the San Francisco 49ers, didn't practice on Wednesday or Thursday with a heel issue. His status is unclear, but it's unlikely he'll be at 100 percent.

Commanders should give Luke McCaffrey a heavy workload in Week 5

Offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury must make the best of a difficult situation. His options are minimal, but this could provide the perfect platform for Luke McCaffrey to continue his encouraging recent growth.

Not many gave McCaffrey a shot at featuring much on the offensive rotation this season. The 2024 third-round pick is being brought along gradually by the coaching staff, and rightfully so. However, health problems have left Washington with no choice but to throw him into the fire.

It's bringing a positive response. McCaffery is seizing the moment, scoring touchdowns in each of his last two games. He's proving dependable when it counts, and confidence is growing.

The Commanders will need all that and more at SoFi Stadium. McCaffrey's gone from an afterthought to one of the team's most integral pass-catchers. Jayden Daniels is back in the lineup, which shifts the dynamic slightly, but the signal-caller has no choice but to trust his 2024 draft classmate versus a powerhouse defense that causes complete havoc.

McCaffrey's expectations are rising. He was always confident that he could make an impact, but something was preventing the Commanders from giving him the required targets last season despite his decent separation statistics. Now, they have very few other alternatives with McLaurin and Brown sidelined.

While it's far from ideal, this has provided an unlikely opportunity for McCaffrey to solidify his importance to the team's short and long-term plans. He won't unseat McLaurin or Samuel, but he should have Brown's spot in his sights when one considers how brittle the former Ohio State standout appears at this stage of his career.

A genuine breakout game against the Chargers would go a long way to achieving this objective.