The Commanders will have to overcome another obstacle that they've gotten used to this season with injuries

Originally posted on A to Z Sports | By Josh Taylor | Last updated Oct 31, 2025 2:58 PM ET

The Washington Commanders have a tall task in a must-win game against the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday night.

They will have to do something that they're used to by now due to injuries to key players ever since the season started. Quarterback Jayden Daniels is back from his hamstring injury this week, and of course, his top weapon is out once again. Wide receiver Terry McLaurin re-injured his quad against the Kansas City Chiefs, and he's officially out for Week 9.

Daniels hasn't played with McLaurin since Week 2, and now they need to once again figure out how to get the passing game going.

Commanders have a void on offense without McLaurin

You can't just replace an All-Pro like McLaurin, and he showed last week how much of an impact he has when he's on the field. But now someone else needs to step up to save the season, and offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury knows that it's not an easy task.

"Yeah, I don't think you can account for a player like that," Kingsbury said. "Obviously, it's hard to step in and fill those shoes, but collectively, just more consistency, week in and week out. I think guys have made plays at times and stepped up when asked, but I just think overall as a group we got to be more consistent and the margin for error gets smaller and smaller when, you know, Terry's not out there.”

OC Kliff Kingsbury speaks to the media before practice https://t.co/wgF3OeFJjd
— Washington Commanders (@Commanders) October 30, 2025

The biggest thing that has been missing with McLaurin out is the explosive plays downfield that we saw all of last season. Sure, Deebo Samuel and Luke McCaffrey have made a play or two downfield, but it's nothing like what the offense had last season.

The Commanders are missing the deep threat without Terry McLaurin

Last year, the Daniels and McLaurin duo were the second most explosive duo in the league behind only Jared Goff and Amon-Ra St.Brown. Daniels' completions for 50+ yards are what have been missing this season, and McLaurin was the best to do it. McLaurin accounted for 75.8% of the big-play yards last season.

Only Jared Goff recorded more games with completions of 50+ yards than Jayden Daniels (6) last season.

These explosive plays accounted for 11.9% of Daniels' passing yards.

Terry McLaurin was responsible for an overwhelming 75.8% of those big-play yards. pic.twitter.com/YvASarPO5a
— PFSN (@PFSN365) August 11, 2025

Kingsbury also alluded to it in the press conference on Thursday that the explosive plays just haven't been there this season.

"Yeah, I mean Terry's great at it," Kingsbury said. "Noah Brown's great at it. You mentioned Dyami [Brown] had some big ones, so you don't have those guys, and I think we're still trying to
figure out who that is to really stretch the field and push that down the field. But that was a big
part of our offense, and we haven't been able to capitalize on that just yet.”

The Commanders need someone to step up until McLaurin returns, and they will have to keep up with Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba on the other side , who is poised to have a big game against the Commanders' defense. Expect Daniels to target Samuel and McCaffrey early and often, and of course, his tight end, Zach Ertz, in the red zone.

This article first appeared on A to Z Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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