3 Commanders who have a massive opportunity to prove themselves on Sunday with multiple starters out against the Falcons
Expect these three players to step up to the plate.
The Washington Commanders’ list of injuries continues to grow, but it’s next man up in the NFL, and the season goes on regardless.
We saw Marcus Mariota get the win last week against the Las Vegas Raiders, and he’s going to have to do it again on the road against another former team, the Atlanta Falcons. There are even more players missing this week, like star wide receiver Terry McLaurin, and it’ll take a full team effort to come home with a win.
Pressure creates diamonds, and three young players have a massive opportunity to make a name for themselves on Sunday with their increased roles.
WR – Luke McCaffrey
Second-year wide receiver Luke McCaffrey saw the field more than usual last week with Noah Brown out, but now McLaurin is out as well, so his role increases even more with everyone being elevated another spot. He found the endzone for the first time in his career last week on a 43-yard deep crossing route. Maybe that was the kind of game he needed to help spark a productive rest of the season.
RB – Chris Rodriguez Jr.
The Commanders marked Bill Croskey-Merritt as questionable with his shoulder injury, even as a full participant at practice, so we aren’t sure if he will actually play Sunday or not. Regardless, his usage should be lower than expected to give him time to heal, and Chris Rodriguez Jr. has the chance to make the most of the opportunity. After being inactive for the first two games, he got the running game started against the Raiders on the first drive.
Rodriguez Jr. scored against the Falcons last year, and he can fight for his snap counts on Sunday if he can find the endzone again. The Falcons have a top passing defense, and offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury will need to lean on the run game again to give the offense a chance.
TE – Ben Sinnott
Veteran Zach Ertz is obvious TE1 on the Commanders’ offense, but the TE2 role with John Bates is just as important as one of the best blocking tight ends in the NFL. Losing Bates in the run game is a huge loss, but Ben Sinnott stepped in to do the dirty work last week, and the Commanders’ run game put up 201 yards on the ground again.
The receiving part of Sinnott’s development is coming, and we know it’s there, but right now, he’s doing what the team needs him to do, and Sunday is a chance to show that he can be a constant impact on the field. As I mentioned with Rodriguez Jr. earlier in the article, the run game is important on Sunday, and a lot of runs will go through Sinnott.
Injuries are the unfortunate part of the game, and the season goes on, so look for these three players to help pick up the workload in their increased roles on Sunday. There’s no telling how long a couple of players will be out for, so you could see the depth players having to play longer than expected.
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