After missing quite a few games this season with a quad strain, Washington Commanders wide receiver Terry McLaurin was finally able to return to the lineup in Week 13 as the Commanders hosted the Denver Broncos on Sunday Night Football.
Despite his return to the lineup, McLaurin has had a slow start to the Week 13 matchup. The Commanders currently have their WR1 on a snap count as he returns from an injury that has sidelined him for most of the season. Let’s take a look at the slow start.
What Happened to Washington Commanders WR Terry McLaurin?
While this is only the fifth game McLaurin has played in the 2025 season, he’s off to another slow start. Through two quarters, he’s been targeted by quarterback Marcus Mariota twice, hauling in one pass for 11 yards.
In four games this season, McLaurin has caught 13 of 21 targets for 203 yards and one touchdown. This is a far cry from his 1,096-yard, 13-touchdown season in 2024, which earned him a three-year $97 million contract extension with a $30 million signing bonus.
Terry McLaurin sighting!
Beautiful burst on the inside slant, and picks up a few extra yards after contact too.#RaiseHail pic.twitter.com/XESLCuzzMs
— Chad Ryan (@ChadwikoTWW) December 1, 2025
While the low production from McLaurin is disappointing, given the fact that they are playing the Broncos and Marcus Mariota is under center, the situation makes sense. According to PFSN’s Defense Impact metric, the Broncos have the best defense in the NFL, taking the No. 1 spot with a score of 93.1 in 2025.
However, with Mariota as the starting quarterback in Jayden Daniels’ absence, he’s getting the ball out quicker against the Broncos, making the AFC West team’s intimidating pass rush largely ineffective.
While McLaurin can get targets now and then, the passing game does not have nearly as much time to develop as if Daniels were under center. Mariota knows what he wants to do and makes that decision within seconds of receiving the snap.
The challenges from the Broncos’ defense make moving the ball down the field through the passing game challenging, but a committee from the rushing attack and everyone playing at their A-game has the Commanders right in the Week 13 matchup, leading 14-13.
Getting McLaruin more involved, as they did on the first drive of the second half, will help. However, it’s going to take contributions from everyone for the Commanders to pull off a win, like they just saw from recent signing Treylon Burks.
Editor’s Note: This is a breaking news story and will be updated throughout the day as more information becomes available.