Week 3 Keys to the Game – Las Vegas Raiders at Washington Commanders

By: Sam Myer 9/9/25

The Washington Commanders return home in week three against the Las Vegas Raiders for a pivotal game for both squads. Wasington is coming off of arguably the worst loss of the Dan Quinn era and needs to respond to the adversity. Whether it is Jayden Daniels or Marcus Mariota behind center leading the offense in Week 3, it is imperative that the offense takes a step up. The Commanders offense has begun their 2025 campaign with only

Washington Commanders Keys to the Game

-            Establish the run early and often, regardless of the starting QB

o   Without Ekeler, the door is open for Bill Croskey-Merritt to break out and the

-            Find Terry McLaurin in space

o   Terry has had a slow start to the season, but needs to become more involved for the offense to find its rhythm again

-            Put pressure on Geno Smith

o   Geno had a rough game on Monday night against the Chargers and did a poor job handling the pass rush throwing 3 interceptions and taking 3 sacks

Las Vegas Raiders Keys to the Game

-            Feed Ashton Jeanty

o   While Jeanty had a tough time in pass protection on Monday night, every touch he had was electric to watch. Getting him in space must be a priority

-            Establish the run to set up play action

o   Getting Washington sitting back and playing man coverage was how Jordan Love was able to carve up the Commanders secondary

-            Keep everything in front on defense

o   The Raiders secondary struggled on Monday night allowing big plays in the passing game, as the Chargers had three pass plays over 24 yards

Key Matchup to Watch

-            Maxx Crosby vs Josh Conerly Jr.

o   Josh Conerly Jr. has been beaten up throughout his first two NFL games and had a real welcome to the NFL moment against Micah Parsons in week two. Parsons lined up against Conerly on 80% of snaps and had an absolute field day on the rookie. Conerly has allowed four sacks in two games, and it isn’t going to get any easier against Crosby this week. Even worse for Conerly, he’ll be without his safety blanket in blocking tight end John Bates. Colson Yankoff will likely fill in this role, but he is certainly a downgrade in the running game and in pass blocking.

Key Players

-            Washington Commanders

o   Bill Croskey-Merritt – Huge opportunity for the rookie to truly take the workhorse role in this backfield with Austin Ekeler out for the season

o   Terry McLaurin – McLaurin needs a return to elite production for this offense to regain their groove from last season. This Raiders secondary struggled mightily against the Chargers outside receivers last week.

o   Marshon Lattimore – Lattimore was picked on by Matt LaFleur last week in Green Bay, consistently dialing up plays getting him to move through traffic. An egregious holding penalty in the first half didn’t make things better. Lattimore needs get back to the level of performance from week one unless he wants to have a long season.

-            Las Vegas Raiders

o   Maxx Crosby – This may be a bit obvious, but he is undoubtedly one of the best pass rushers in the game. His counterpart in Green Bay wrecked the game against Washington in week two and he’ll be looking to do the same.

o   Ashton Jeanty – If the rookie 6^th overall pick is finally able to get going, everything will finally open up for the Raiders offense.

o   Jeremy Chinn – The former Commander will need to have a big game preventing big plays from Terry McLaurin.

Matchup Prediction

Both the Raiders and Commanders are coming off tough losses in week two where they were dominated for the majority of both games. A bounce back week is must for both teams as each offense is still trying to find their groove. Both teams struggled running the ball and preventing big plays in their week two matchups and will be the focal points of each game plan for week three.

Score Prediction – Washington Commanders 24 Las Vegas Raiders 20

-            Terry McLaurin will have three plays of 20+ yards as the deep passing game is finally unlocked for the Commanders

-            The Washington defensive line has a big week putting constant pressure on Geno Smith and forcing him into committing two turnovers