The Washington Commanders are looking to snap a four-game losing streak on Sunday when the Detroit Lions come to town. It won’t be easy. Detroit remains one of the NFC’s best teams, behind an explosive offense and numerous playmakers on both sides of the ball.
The Commanders are dealing with multiple injuries, including to quarterback Jayden Daniels and wide receiver Terry McLaurin. In recent weeks, even Washington’s running game has struggled. If Washington is to have any chance at upsetting the Lions on Sunday, it will need to run the ball and control the clock.
Could we see a change in the Commanders’ backfield?
Head coach Dan Quinn opened his Friday press conference like he always does. He named three captains for the game. One of those captains was third-year running back Chris Rodriguez Jr. This comes days after Rodriguez had his best day this season, rushing for 65 yards and a touchdown on 12 carries against the NFL’s top-ranked run defense.
Rookie Jacory Croskey-Merritt has struggled at times over the past few weeks. All of those struggles can’t be blamed on Croskey-Merritt, though. Opposing teams have loaded the box against the Commanders, challenging Washington’s wide receivers to beat them one-on-one. They haven’t been winning those matchups, and Washington’s run game hasn’t been as effective.
Could we see a change on Sunday? Quinn didn’t say there would be a change, but here’s what he did say about Rodriguez when naming a Week 10 captain.
“Offensively, Chris Rodriguez, and toughness, physicality, and Chris is somebody, like our teammates count on him in such a big way,” Quinn said. “He absolutely takes care of people here in this building just by energy—his approach.”
Perhaps this is just Quinn rewarding a popular and selfless player. However, it comes one day after offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury heaped praise on Rodriguez.
“I think all of us are pressing a little bit,” Kingsbury said. “Yeah. You definitely feel that, you know, we got to take what’s blocked. I thought that’s one thing C-Rod did a really nice job when he came in. We got to take what’s blocked and then the big plays will come, but I think as an entire offense we’re pressing and we’ve got to just make the routine plays and allow those big plays to happen.”
Kingsbury wasn’t done talking about Rodriguez.
“I think, you know, you go through flows of the season and different guys kind of are called upon to do different things and every time we’ve asked C-Rod to step up, he’s played at a high level and so he did that once again but that’s an area, like I said, I think we’ve got to be able to get what’s blocked and then when we have a chance to make a big one, we got to take advantage of that as well.”
While neither coach said it, it sounds like we’ll finally see Rodriguez get a shot to lead Washington’s backfield. He’s earned it. This isn’t an indictment on Croskey-Merritt, but more of the team going with the guy who doesn’t leave yards on the field, which is critical for a struggling offense.
Rodriguez’s previous career-high was 13 carries in one game. He set that record last season. Could he be in store for new career-highs on Sunday? The Lions rank 10th in the NFL in run defense, so Rodriguez will need to earn every yard.
This article originally appeared on Commanders Wire: Washington Commanders: Did Dan Quinn reveal an offensive change?
