Depth takes Commanders from good to great

The Washington Commanders are having to rely on their depth earlier in the season than they had hoped.

Injuries have ravaged the roster already going into Week 4 and six players are on this week's injury report. Commanders head coach Dan Quinn spoke about the necessity of depth for the roster.

"I don't talk to the team about it a lot. And the reason being is I want, when the moments come, I wanted to prepare for that bend as a certainty, not a possibility. Who knows what position, it could have been running back or tight end or receiver, whatever that looks like that's the job," Quinn said.

"That's why you're here and you get those chances and when they come you want to make sure you don't over try it. ‘I wanted this so badly, I need to perform at a certain space.’ Play calling wise, I think [Offensive Coordinator] Kliff [Kingsbury] and [Defensive Coordinator] Joe [Whitt Jr.], they recognize how to feature the players or the things they can do. It's not just rinse and repeat, same plays, same ways. It's how do you feature the players and the things that they do best. And I thought Kliff did a really good job of that last week and that's our role is to make sure it's not everybody's in the same spot."

Washington Commanders head coach Dan Quinn walks to the podium for a press conference. | Eric Canha-Imagn Images

Commanders depth being tested early

All across the roster, the Commanders have needed someone other than the starter to step up at every position, except for the specialists.

The Commanders' 2-1 record up until this point should be a testament that the depth can contribute, especially after last week's 41-24 win against the Las Vegas Raiders.

The Commanders are hoping for a repeat of last week in the win column, but in order to achieve that goal, the team will have to rely on depth once again.

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