ASHBURN, Va. -- In early October, the Washington Commanders capped off their fifth game of the season doing what they had done in most of the first four: run the ball well. It led to a double-digit road win at the Los Angeles Chargers.
The Commanders, then 3-2, weren't in bad shape. But the run game hasn't been the same since. In their first five games, the Commanders were the NFL's top rushing team. Over the past three weeks, Washington -- now 3-5 -- ranks 18th.
The upcoming schedule will provide another pair of tests for the ground game. On Sunday, the Commanders will welcome the Seattle Seahawks (5-2) and their top-ranked run defense in yards per game and per carry. Then, Washington will host the Detroit Lions, who rank fifth in yards per game allowed and 11th in yards per carry allowed.
The lack of an effective ground game is among the reasons Washington has lost three consecutive games and is something the team is focused on getting right.
"It's definitely a point of emphasis," Washington tight end Ben Sinnott said.
It needs to be. With Washington once again missing key elements of the pass game, it will need the run offense to be more productive. Some of the recent issues stem from the score; the Commanders fell behind by double digits in the second half of their past two games, losing by a combined 43 points to Dallas and Kansas City. But there have been other issues as well, notably teams loading up more to stop the run and daring Washington to win with its pass game.
The Commanders haven't had their top three receivers available at the same time since Week 2 and their top wideout, Terry McLaurin, will miss his fifth game Sunday. So that strategy of forcing them to win via the air has worked.
The Commanders could win without having a big day running the ball against Seattle, but they would need quarterback Jayden Daniels to have a strong game with only Deebo Samuel among his top three wide receiver threats against Seattle. The Seahawks have the NFL's 23-ranked pass defense, so that's always possible.
If Daniels, who is returning from a hamstring injury suffered in the Dallas loss, plays as expected, it will help Washington's offense. Certain defensive schemes become harder to use because of his run threat, whether on designed carries or in the pass game. He has rushed for 211 yards this season after finishing with 891 last season.
"Jayden erases some things for us with his feet and his play making ability," guard Sam Cosmi said. "It'll open up a lot of things for us."
Regardless, the Commanders have been at their best this season when they can run the ball. In their first five games, Washington averaged a league-high 156.4 yards. In the past three, they're down to 106.7. The Commanders' running backs have averaged just 54.7 yards in the past three games as the rushing attack began to rely more on quarterback runs and scrambles.
Chicago and Dallas, both of which rank in the bottom six in run defense, had success stopping Washington.
The Bears played a single-high safety on a season-high 45 snaps, allowing for more defenders in the box. The next week, with all three of Washington's top receivers sidelined, Dallas played its highest number of single-high safety looks. The result: Over the past three weeks, Samuel leads all Washington receivers with seven catches. And those receptions have resulted in just 26 yards.
"Teams are going to challenge you with a little more man coverage if they want to see where you're at with wideout and what those guys can do," Commanders offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury said.
Washington offensive line coach Bobby Johnson said one way to counter the single-high looks is by incorporating more quarterback runs or run-pass options.
"Try to put the defenders in conflict," Johnson said. "You have to find a way to put the numbers back in your advantage. ... We just have to focus on what we do well and what's been good for us."
Chris Moore leads Washington's wideouts with 105 yards combined in those three games; the veteran opened the season on the practice squad.
It would be different if the Commanders had Samuel, McLaurin and Noah Brown on the field at the same time -- as was the plan entering the season. Or if they at least had Samuel and McLaurin for an extended time.
"There's no doubt there's certain coverages that teams aren't willing to play when you have guys like that on the field," Kingsbury said.
In Washington's first five games, the running backs averaged 7.1 yards per carry against seven or more defenders in the box. In the past three weeks, it's 2.8 per carry. One league analyst said he has noticed teams at times using more defenders in the box, though he said it often occurs with post-snap rotations.
Also, he said, defensive lines are using more movement up front to shoot gaps or creases and cause problems. Dallas started stunting its linemen more as the game unfolded, and Washington's running attack then stumbled. The Chiefs brought corner blitzes versus the run at times.
"We've seen a lot of different defenses in the last couple weeks," Sinnott said, "especially when me and [tight end] John [Bates] are in the game. There's a lot of movement. They're bringing blitzes, they're slanting the front, just trying to stop the run.
"When they're bringing that movement, things change and the guy you're supposed to block is being blocked by somebody else. So you have to know who you're going to go to from there."
That can lead to confusion and missed assignments.
Washington ran the ball almost exclusively when Sinnott and Bates, whom it says is the best blocking tight end in the league, were on the field. But it did so with success. In the first five games they were on the field together 35 times, and they ran the ball 33 times for 5.8 yards per carry. In the past three games, they've run the ball 31 times for 3.5 yards per rush.
"No matter what they think you're doing, if you get it blocked up it doesn't matter what the play call is," Sinnott said. "It's on us to make it work no matter what look we get."
It can be about the basics.
"Get hats on hats," Cosmi said.
And sometimes it's about details. The league analyst said it can be as simple as a back getting the handoff right behind the center rather than to the play side -- and that difference can result in a botched run.
Whatever the case, the Commanders know they need to stick with running the ball.
"Every week isn't going to be 200 yards or the best run game we had all year," running back Jeremy McNichols said, "but we're just going to keep chipping away and ... keep doing what we're doing. We're not doing anything that we're not supposed to. It'll come along."
