Browns at Commanders with the Offensive Rookie of the Year favorite Jayden Daniels in Week 5

One of the biggest stories of the first month of the NFL season has been the 3-1 Washington Commanders led by record-setting QB Jayden Daniels, the Offensive Rookie of the Year favorite.

The Commanders are favored on the NFL odds to keep rolling Sunday against visiting Cleveland.

Cleveland Browns +142

The Browns can’t get going on offense and lost 20-16 on Sunday at Las Vegas to fall to 1-3. Cleveland drove to the Raiders 9-yard line with time winding down, but Deshaun Watson was sacked by Charles Snowden with 41 seconds left to seal the victory. The Raiders held on for the win despite star wide receiver Davante Adams (hamstring) and premier pass rusher Maxx Crosby (ankle) missing the game because of injuries. And the defense held the Browns to 241 total yards.

“When you’re a 1-3 football team, you’re not playing well enough in any area. So, we need to focus on just playing better offense, defense, special teams,” Coach Kevin Stefanski said.

Deshaun Watson

Watson completed 24 of 32 pass attempts for 176 yards, one touchdown and one interception, while rushing eight times for 32 yards. Watson has failed to eclipse the 200-yard mark in passing in all four of his starts this season, and has five TDs and six turnovers overall. He’s just not a very good player these days. Cleveland ranks 24th in the NFL in offensive touchdowns with six.

"It'll be good to have his presence, his attitude, his mentality out there"@deshaunwatson | @NickChubb pic.twitter.com/45A0mtP9WU

— Cleveland Browns (@Browns) October 2, 2024

Jerry Jeudy

Toward the end of the first half in Las Vegas, cameras caught Watson and backup QB Jameis Winston chastising right tackle Dawand Jones after a blown block. A lot of their issues, WR Jerry Jeudy said this week, stem from issues with each of the 11 players on the field not executing their assignments fully.

“Collectively, as a unit, we just all have to be on the same page at the same time. That’s the biggest thing, for real,” Jeudy said. “Because as an offense, as a group, if one person messed up, the whole play is messed up.”

Mike Hall

Cleveland rookie defensive tackle Hall, a second-round pick in April’s draft, has been suspended five games without pay for violating the league’s personal conduct policy. Hall, who pleaded no contest in September to a reduced charge of disorderly conduct stemming from a domestic altercation in the summer, will be eligible for reinstatement after Sunday’s game. Hall has been on the commissioner’s exempt list since the beginning of the regular season.

The Browns’ defense hasn’t looked like the elite unit it was in 2023, and missed tackles have played a big role. The issue has become especially problematic on the ground, as Cleveland is allowing 2.24 yards after contact per rush, the worst mark in the NFL.

“A lot of guys are going in with their shoulder trying to lay that big hit … first guy’s got to wrap up and slow the runner down and stop his momentum,” star defensive end Myles Garrett said after the Browns allowed more than 150 rushing yards to the Raiders.

Nick Chubb

Star running back Chubb practiced Wednesday for the first time since last year’s season-ending knee injury. Chubb, a four-time Pro Bowl selection, has spent the first four games of the season on the physically unable to perform list as he continued to rehab a severe knee injury he suffered in Week 2 of the 2023 season. He might be activated on Sunday, but Cleveland will have 21 days to add Chubb to the active roster. The Browns announced on Wednesday that starting right guard Wyatt Teller would be placed on injured reserve. Teller sustained the knee injury during Week 3 against the Giants.

The Browns are also dealing with other injuries to key offensive linemen like LT Jedrick Wills Jr., LT James Hudson III and RT Jack Conklin. As a subsequent move to add depth to the offensive line, the Browns signed T Germain Ifedi to the active roster. Ifedi was on the Browns’ practice squad and was elevated for Week 1 and Week 2 of the regular season. Tight end David Njoku has missed the past two games with an ankle injury and isn’t likely for Sunday.

Washington Commanders -175

The Commanders trounced the Cardinals 42-14 in Arizona last Sunday behind another big game from stellar rookie QB Jayden Daniels. He completed 26 of 30 pass attempts (86.7 percent) for 233 yards and one touchdown for a 96.3 rating, and added 47 rushing yards and one rushing touchdown. Daniels, who completed 21 of 23 pass attempts for a single-game rookie record 91.3 completion percentage (minimum 20 attempts) in Week 3, is the first player in NFL history with a completion percentage of 85-or-higher in consecutive games (minimum 15 attempts in each game).

Jayden Daniels

Daniels has an 82.1 completion percentage (87 of 106) this season, surpassing Tom Brady (79.2 percent, 95 of 120, in 2007) for the highest completion percentage (minimum 75 attempts) by a player in his team’s first four games of a season in NFL history. Daniels has a passer rating of 90-or-higher and a completion percentage of 70-or-higher in each of his first four career games, and joined Dak Prescott (2016) as the only rookie quarterbacks in NFL history to reach those marks in four consecutive games.

Jayden has 218 rushing yards and joined Robert Griffin III (234 rushing yards) as the only quarterbacks with at least 200 rushing yards in their first four career games in the Super Bowl era. He has four rushing touchdowns and joined Griffin III, Cam Newton and Anthony Richardson as the only quarterbacks in the Super Bowl era with four rushing touchdowns in their first four career games.

LIVE: QB Jayden Daniels speaks to the media after practice https://t.co/KcLRG7MvtD

— Washington Commanders (@Commanders) October 2, 2024

Brian Robinson Jr.

Robinson Jr. rushed for 101 yards and a rushing touchdown in the win. Robinson Jr. has recorded a rushing touchdown in back-to-back games for the first time in his career. Fellow tailback Austin Ekeler missed the game injured and is questionable for Week 5. Seldom-used Jeremy McNichols rushed eight times for 68 yards and two touchdowns while getting some extra time without Ekeler.

Terry McLaurin

WR McLaurin caught seven passes for 52 yards and a receiving touchdown. Terry (394) passed Bobby Mitchell for the eighth-most receptions in franchise history and has recorded touchdowns in back-to-back games for the first time since 2020.

“This is a really fun offense to be a part of,” McLaurin said after the game. “For the guys who’ve been here for so long we haven’t quite had this feeling.”

Washington has scored 30-plus points in consecutive games for the first time since Week 10 and Week 11 of the 2017 season. It’s also the first time that Washington has scored 30-plus points in consecutive games and won both games since Week 16 and Week 17 of the 2015 season.

Bobby Wagner

The defense is still one of the NFL’s worst, especially against the run, but certainly made strides vs. Arizona. Kyler Murray and his offense, which ranked seventh in total yards heading into Week 4, were limited to 296 yards, and Murray, who had just one rushing attempt for three yards, was sacked four times. Linebackers Frankie Luvu and Bobby Wagner, both off season acquisitions, have proven themselves as Washington’s best defensive weapons. They have combined for 68 tackles and earned the fifth- and sixth-best grades among linebackers from Pro Football Focus.

“Every game, I feel like everybody’s growing,” Wagner said. “That’s what you want to do, so when you got guys that just kind of pop out and just keep growing, you just want to do that. Now, we want the next person to do it, and the next person, and then we all collectively do it.”

Browns vs Commanders Info

When: Sunday, 1 PM ET
Where: Northwest Stadium
TV: FOX
Radio: http://www.siriusxm.com/nfl
Stream Option: https://tv.youtube.com/learn/nflsundayticket/

Browns vs Commanders Series History

Cleveland leads 35-12-1 all-time and 17-5-1 as the road team against Washington. They last played at Washington in Week 17 of the 2022 season and the Browns prevailed 24-10 as then-Commanders QB Carson Wentz threw three picks. He’s long gone. Cleveland’s Deshaun Watson finished 9 of 18 for 169 yards and TD passes to Amari Cooper and Donovan Peoples-Jones.

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