The Washington Commanders have gone from 0-2 and the loss of Jayden Daniels to a dislocated elbow to finding a little life with a stunning upset over the Seattle Seahawks. That turnaround doesn’t make everything neat and tidy, and it doesn’t erase the work still ahead for Dan Quinn’s team.
But it does change the mood. The defense is getting better, the offense held together in Week 3 without Daniels, and there’s at least enough momentum now to make the rest of this season interesting.
That’s part of why the first three games have already created the kind of problem coaches like to have: a few players are forcing the staff and front office to think harder about what comes next.
K'Lavon Chaisson is one of them. The Commanders edge rusher passed on a longer offer from the New Orleans Saints this offseason because he believed a one-year deal in Washington could put him in position for a much bigger payday in 2027.
So far, that bet is paying off. Through three games, Chaisson has one sack, two run stops, and eight pressures.
A lot of his work won’t jump off the page, but the LSU product has been active, and his pairing with big-money signing Odafe Oweh has worked well early. The next step is finishing plays with more force.
Even so, Washington has to be encouraged by what it’s seeing, and the bigger question is whether this level of production is enough to earn a major commitment down the road.
Javon Kinlaw is creating another difficult decision. After drawing plenty of criticism for a disappointing first season in Washington, the defensive lineman looks like a different player in 2026.
In Daronte Jones’ new 3-4 base front, he has been more disruptive against the run and far more active in the backfield. Adam Peters may have overpaid for Kinlaw last year, but the general manager never lost faith in the South Carolina product, and early on, that trust looks justified.
Kinlaw has been Washington’s best interior defensive lineman through three weeks, and if he keeps this up for the full season, the 2020 first-round pick could wind up playing out the final year of his deal.
The Commanders still have a long road ahead, and nothing about this start changes that. But these are the kinds of early performances that can shift a season’s direction in a hurry.
In Other News...
Commanders Suddenly Have A Bigger QB Question Than They Wanted
Marcus Mariotas relief turn against the Seahawks did more than steady the Commanders for a week. It also put him in the same conversation Jayden Daniels had been owning all season, as Mariota was voted FedEx Air Player of the Week after stepping in for the injured rookie and helping keep Washington on track.
Mariota completed 19 passes for 183 yards and 3 touchdowns with a 110.0 passer rating, and he even added a key rushing first down late in the game. Daniels had already won the same award three times during his rookie season, which is what makes this latest honor feel a little more complicated for Washington as it waits to see how the quarterback picture settles going forward. [Read more 🡒]
Commanders May Have Found The Protection Answer Jayden Daniels Needed
Against a tough Seattle front, the Commanders offensive line turned in one of its more encouraging outings of the season, keeping Jayden Daniels upright and giving the offense a fighting chance. Washington allowed only two sacks and handled the pass rush well enough that the game never felt like it was slipping away because of protection issues, which has been a real concern at times this year.
The improvement came from a mix of schematic tweaks and cleaner individual work up front, and that combination mattered against a defense built to punish mistakes. For a team trying to maximize Daniels impact, Sunday offered at least a glimpse of a more workable formula, even if the bigger question is whether Washington can make that level of protection hold up once opponents have more film on it. [Read more 🡒]
Jayden Daniels Injury Outlook Just Became A Real Commanders Concern
Jayden Daniels has been working through another layer of discomfort as Washington prepares for the Colts, practicing with a large brace on his left arm to guard against further elbow dislocations after injuries last year and again earlier this season. The Commanders quarterback has opted to put surgery off until after the season, if he needs it at all, and his availability for Sunday remains part of the weekly uncertainty around a team trying to keep its season on track.
Daniels said the brace does limit his range of motion, but not his throwing motion, which leaves Washington in the familiar spot of balancing caution with urgency. He is taking things day by day, and for a Commanders team already watching closely, his status against Indianapolis now looms as one of the more important storylines of the week. [Read more 🡒]