Washington has a much different look when Terry McLaurin is driving the offense.
That was obvious in Sunday’s 33-31 win over Seattle, when the Commanders’ top receiver turned a game that had been waiting for a spark into one of those nights that feels built around one player’s confidence. McLaurin finished with six catches for 77 yards and a touchdown, and the biggest moment came on a 30-yard scoring strike from Marcus Mariota that was less about clean separation and more about belief.
“It kind of changed on the fly,” Mariota said after the victory. “He beat (cornerback) Josh (Jobe) really well, or really bad off the line.
It was one of those, like, he kind of mail boxed it. Me, if it’s one-on-one, I’m gonna take my shot with Terry every time, and he made an unbelievable catch.”
That line tells the whole story. Mariota trusted his receiver in a one-on-one look and gave him a chance, and McLaurin delivered. The quarterback’s willingness to keep firing his way mattered, especially with Washington trying to rediscover its offensive rhythm after a rough start.
McLaurin, for his part, sounded like a player who knew exactly what that moment meant.
“We don’t try to make a habit of going off key, but at the end of the day, we speak about being ball players out there,” McLaurin said. “When you get a clean release like that, and you have a chance to make a big play, you want to capitalize, and we did that.
It definitely worked out in our favor. I actually kind of got a little bit of a one -on-one; they were probably quarters, so I got a little bit of one -on-one coverage with him, and put the ball up, and I just wanted to come down with it.
“That was euphoric. Everybody has been waiting for the mask to get dropped and the celebration, so to see all my teammates doing it, that just means something different to me because they really support and love what you do out there.”
This is the version of McLaurin Washington needs more often. Offensive coordinator David Blough made that plain in the spring, when he said McLaurin should get 10 targets per game.
That was before the Stefon-Diggs-world shift, when McLaurin was still the clear centerpiece of the passing game. The plan has held up in spirit even if the results have varied.
McLaurin opened the season with only two catches on four targets against Philadelphia, but that was heavily shaped by the Eagles taking him away. Since then, he’s seen nine targets in each game.
The efficiency was rough in Week 2. According to Sharp Football Analysis, an NFL-worst 45% of his targets through two weeks were catchable. But against Seattle, McLaurin looked like the player Washington needs him to be - a difference-maker who can beat coverage, win contested balls and change the temperature of the offense.
He even backed it up in the advanced numbers: a plus-12% catch rate over expectation, plus-5.2 EPA overall and 2.6 yards per route run.
McLaurin was modest about what his performance meant for the first Commanders win.
“This is the opportunity that was just seized.”
He said he spent the offseason building timing with Jayden Daniels after barely playing with him last year, then adjusted once Daniels became unavailable and leaned on the trust he already had with Mariota to help Washington get over the line.
“I think, just being a part of this team where they trust me to be a leader and the playmaker,” McLaurin said, “I just wanted to kinda put that on display.”
Mariota said the Commanders are going to keep giving him those chances.
“He’s going to get his opportunity,” Mariota said. “He’s going to make the most of it.
I thought the first couple of games he did a good job of kind of trying to find ways to allow him to create separation. That’s part of it.
Like I said, you’re gonna go against good defenses, you’re gonna go against teams that game plan well. And I just thought we had a great opportunity for him this week, and he really delivered for us.”
And that’s the point. Washington can look dangerous when McLaurin is active, targeted and trusted. The Commanders need him operating as one of the league’s top 10-15 receivers - open when he’s open, tough when he isn’t, and impossible to ignore either way.
In Other News...
Commanders First Win Already Comes With Two Major Roster Questions
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Commanders Suddenly Have A Mike Sainristil Problem In The Secondary
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The timing makes the situation more complicated, because Trey Amos is expected to come back from injured reserve and could add another body to an already crowded cornerback picture. Washingtons coaches have also been open about their concerns with Sainristils performance and consistency, so his place in the rotation now feels far less secure than it did earlier in the season. [Read more 🡒]