Look away, Washington Commanders fans, it’s a beatdown on Sunday Night Football. The Seattle Seahawks are flying in the first half on primetime as they took a 24-point lead into halftime. The Commanders will have to pull off a miraculous turnaround, as the Seahawks are showing no signs of slowing down. Washington’s offense was very quiet in the first half, and Jacory Croskey-Merritt is one of many offensive weapons off to a slow start.
Jacory Croskey-Merritt’s Slow Start
Croskey-Merritt has been mostly a non-factor in the first half. He’s been in the game looking to make an impact, but it hasn’t happened for Washington. Outside of Jayden Daniels, the ground game has looked uninspiring.
Is it time to worry about Bill Croskey-Merritt…
5 Carries
15 Yards pic.twitter.com/H9ScyzI2NL
— TWSN (@TWSN___) November 3, 2025
Croskey-Merritt racked up just five carries for 15 yards in the opening half. He’s going to need to make a big impact if the Commanders want to make this a close game. It’s tough to imagine that Croskey-Merritt will be getting many touches on the ground, though, as the Commanders have to make up at least 24 points.
Croskey-Merritt took the starting running back role after Austin Ekeler suffered a season-ending injury. He had plenty of hype surrounding him during training camp, and the Commanders trusted him over former starting RB Brian Robinson Jr., who was shipped to San Francisco. Now, the Commanders have to rely on him to get something going for this offense.
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On the flip side, Sam Darnold and the Seahawks hardly put a foot wrong in the first half. Darnold completed all 16 of his passes in the first half and threw for four touchdowns. They are looking very scary and a team to beat in the NFC. The defense looks good, too, complicating the chances of a Washington comeback.
Croskey-Merritt is one of the few dynamic weapons that could help get the Commanders back into striking distance, along with Deebo Samuel Sr. and Daniels. Croskey-Merritt is the 15th-ranked running back in PFSN’s RB Impact score with a grade of 79.9.
The Commanders are facing a critical point in their season. It’s now or never. They have to show themselves that they belong on the field with these good teams or they’ll be looking at their sixth loss of the season. With a likely loss to Seattle, they will have zero room for error at all over the rest of the season as one more loss would likely put any playoff hopes in serious jeopardy.