Jacory “Bill” Croskey-Merritt gave Washington exactly the kind of burst it needed against the Giants - and then, suddenly, the ball stopped finding him.
In the Commanders’ 27-27 tie with New York on Sunday, Croskey-Merritt paced Washington’s running backs with 82 yards on 11 carries. The eye-popping part wasn’t just the production. It was what happened next: despite averaging 7.5 yards per carry, he did not get another touch over the final 14:20 of regulation or in overtime.
That’s what made the usage feel so jarring. Croskey-Merritt played 15 fewer offensive snaps than Rachaad White, who was billed as the team’s third-down back, yet he still finished with the most rushing yards on the roster. White caught one pass for two yards, while Austin Ekeler also had one reception, going for 15 yards.
Croskey-Merritt even flashed late in the third quarter, ripping off a 22-yard run with 39 seconds left in the period. His next carry came at the 14:20 mark of the fourth quarter, a one-yard gain.
That was it. From there, Washington’s backfield shifted away from the runner who had been producing and toward White.
White handled all five remaining carries after Croskey-Merritt’s final one and finished with seven rushes for 18 yards. Several of those snaps came in ordinary early-down situations, not the obvious passing downs where White’s skill set would normally be the selling point.
After the Giants pulled within 27-20, White took a first-down carry at Washington’s 37-yard line with 7:15 left and gained one yard. The next play went for one yard as well, Jayden Daniels was sacked on third down, and the Commanders punted.
The pattern carried into overtime. White opened Washington’s first possession with a first-and-10 handoff at the 7:20 mark and picked up three yards on a drive that ended in a punt.
Later, after the Cam Skattebo fumble gave Washington a chance to finish the game, White got the final carry at the 55-second mark and gained two yards. That was the spot, as the source material notes, where Washington should have spiked it and sent the kicking unit out.
Dan Quinn has already spoken about whether the Commanders need a true feature back or prefer to mix and match based on what the offense needs. There is some logic there, especially with White’s edge in pass protection and receiving work, two areas where Croskey-Merritt is still developing.
But that explanation doesn’t really fit what happened Sunday, because Washington wasn’t using White in those roles on the decisive late carries. It was handing him the ball, mostly on first down, while the back who was averaging 7.5 yards a pop watched from the sideline.
Maybe David Blough saw something in the Giants’ defense that pointed him toward White. Maybe something happened with Croskey-Merritt that hasn’t been made public.
Both possibilities exist. But until the coaching staff explains it, the decision remains hard to square.
Croskey-Merritt doesn’t need 25 carries every week, and White and Ekeler still have roles in this offense. The real question is simpler: when one back is having that kind of success and the game is hanging in the balance, why not give him another chance? Against San Francisco, the Commanders’ rotation will be worth watching closely.
In Other News...
Commanders Report Card Reveals What Really Cost Them A Win In New York
A detailed look at Washingtons Week 5 trip to New York makes one thing clear: this was not just a game that slipped away, it was a game the Commanders let get messy in the margins. The report card found bright spots in the rushing offense and along the defensive line, while also showing how the passing game and protection left too much work for the rest of the team to cover.
Special teams and coaching also came under the microscope, because the tie with the Giants felt less like a clean finish and more like a lesson in game management. Washington had built enough of a cushion to control the afternoon, but the final verdict from the breakdown is that the Commanders issues in pass protection, secondary play and late-game decision-making added up at exactly the wrong time. [Read more 🡒]
Commanders Let A Winnable Game Slip Away With Brutal Late Mistake
For much of Sundays Week 5 meeting, Washington looked positioned to leave with a win after building a two-touchdown cushion in the fourth quarter. Instead, the Commanders wound up in a 27-27 tie with the Giants, a result that felt especially painful after New Yorks late surge and Jameis Winstons 326-yard, three-touchdown day kept the pressure on until the final whistle.
Washington still had a path to finish the job in the closing seconds, but a costly clock-management mistake erased the chance to line up a potential game-winning field goal. The Commanders will have to live with the missed opportunity after letting a winnable game slip away in a finish that left plenty of frustration on their sideline. [Read more 🡒]
Commanders Keep Wasting Leads And Dan Quinn Has A Bigger Problem
The late-game mess in overtime only deepened what has become a familiar problem for Washington: promising starts, then a defense that cannot close the door. The Commanders did force turnovers and had chances to get out with a win, but a clock-management mistake helped turn the game into a tie, and the bigger concern remains how often the defense has let opponents hang around long enough to make those moments matter.
Under Dan Quinn and defensive coordinator Daronte Jones, the units issues are not limited to one bad drive or one unlucky break. Coverage busts and big plays have kept showing up after halftime, and even when Washington has been ahead, the second-half resistance has not held up. For a team trying to build something sturdier, the frustration is no longer just about one lead slipping away, but about the same weaknesses resurfacing again and again. [Read more 🡒]