NORTHWEST STADIUM - On a perfect fall afternoon, the echoes of past Washington football glory seemed alive and well en route to a blowout Commanders 34 -13 win over the bumbling Cleveland Browns.
Washington held a three-touchdown lead at halftime and pushed it even further in the second half. The stands were packed with fans, almost all wearing burgundy and gold and screaming for the home team. Jayden Daniels, the rookie quarterback and hottest name in the NFL, again dazzled with his playmaking ability. Things were so good that the home crowd was doing the wave in the middle of the third quarter.
The Commanders now hold a 4-1 record and a firm grip on first place in the NFC East. It's the first time Washington has started 4-1 since 2008, and the first time Washington has scored 30+ points in three straight weeks since 2005.
Early in the game, the Browns' defense tried to keep things close, but big plays proved too much for Cleveland to overcome. Washington had four plays of 30 yards or more in the first half, and Daniels had almost 100 more passing yards than Browns QB Deshaun Watson.
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Perhaps the most remarkable thing about the Week 5 win is that Washington's offense didn't hit on all cylinders but was still so explosive that the points piled up. Daniels did not put on a historic display of passing accuracy like the previous two games, but still, he engineered an offense that piled up more than 400 total yards and through three quarters converted half the time on 3rd downs.
Washington's offense is so good that even a B-type game is enough to blow out Cleveland. Let that sink in.
It also helps that the Browns' offense is hardly representative of an NFL team.
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The Browns went 0 for 10 on third downs to start the game. At halftime, Watson completed just 8 of 18 passes and had fewer than 70 yards passing. Cleveland's rush attack accounted for 14 yards and fewer than 2 yards-per-carry in the first 30 minutes.
This game was an absolute beat down, perhaps even more so than the final score reflects. For the second straight game, Daniels did throw an interception, only this time it happened deep in Browns territory on a drive that otherwise could have resulted in another score for Washington. Cleveland also scored its lone touchdown deep in the fourth quarter when the game was completely out of reach.
Dan Quinn's defense deserves a lot of credit in this game too. The defensive line got to Watson all day, finishing with their highest sack total of the season. Linebacker Frankie Luvu seemed to be everywhere in this game and the Commanders secondary surrendered no big plays for the second straight week.
Washington is now riding a four-game win streak and heads to Baltimore next week. This will be the most anticipated matchup in Commanders' history, which only stretches back a few seasons. Even in the bigger prism of Washington football history, this is as big a Week 6 matchup has felt in a long, long time.
Daniels, along with play-caller Kliff Kingsbury, are at the helm of an explosive audience with playmakers all over the field. It's unclear if Washington's suddenly surging defense is the right matchup to slow down the Ravens, but the Washington offense might be able to keep up.
And if they can keep up with Baltimore, they can keep up with anyone.
