Week 5 Game Recap – Washington Commanders at Los Angeles Chargers

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October 6, 2025

By Noonefromtampa

The Commanders Steal a Road Win Over the Chargers 27-10

First Quarter

Washington won the coin toss and deferred to the second half.  After a penalty in the first Matt Gay kickoff that cost the Chargers nearly 10 yards of field position, Omarion Hampton ran for 8 yards on first down and was stopped for no gain on second down. Justin Herbert scrambled for 41 yards on first down to the Washington 27. Quentin Johnston caught an 11 yard pass and then he committed a false start on the next play.  Hampton had a reception for 8 yards and a run for two yards. After a third down pass breakup by Jeremy Reaves, Mike Sainristil was offside on the field goal attempt which gave the Chargers a first down. After a 4 yard run by Hampton, Herbert found Ladd McConkey for 2 yard touchdown, the extra point was good giving the Chargers a 7-0 lead.

Luke McCaffrey returned the kickoff 40 yards to the Washington 42, but the only positive play was a 7 yard completion to Deebo Samuel on first down Two plays later, Tress Way punt a 52-yard touchback.

Hampton caught a pass for 4 yards and was stopped for no gain on second down. Keenan Allen was wide open on a rub route which picked off Marshon Lattimore and he gained 29 yards. Hassan Haskins ran for 4 yards and McConkey had a 7 yard reception. Johnston gained 9 yards on an end-around. After a false start penalty, Washington put pressure on Herbert forcing an incompletion and was sacked for a 6-yard loss by Von Miller and Jacob Martin. Cameron Dicker drilled a 55 yard field goal through the uprights for a 10-0 lead.

A personal foul penalty backed Washington up to their own 13 yard line on the kickoff. Jacory Croskey-Merritt gained 21 yards on runs of 7, 13, and 1 yards. A pass by Jayden Daniels to Samuel was broken up, putting Washington in a third down and nine. Daniels was forced out of the pocket on third down but only gained 4 yards leading to another Way punt, which was fair caught at the Chargers 14 yard line.

Second Quarter

Hampton gained 3 yards, on first down, up the middle before being tackled by Bobby Wagner. Allen caught a pass for 4 yards and Hampton picked up the first down with another 3 yard run. Hampton had receptions of 4 and 12 yards. Dorance Armstrong sacked Herbert for a 5 yard loss, but McConkey had 13 yard catch and Hampton ran for 8 yards on third and two. Kimani Vidal ran for 2 yards and Herbert hit Johnston for 19 yards, but he fumbled the ball on a hard hit by Quan Martin with Lattimore recovering the loose ball at the Washington 26 yard line.

After a one yard loss, Daniels missed an open Jaylin Lane on second down. A false start penalty backed Washington up another 5 yards.  Lane has a 16-yard reception against Benjamin St-Juste for the first down. Jeremy McNichols ran for 6 yards and Daniels scrambled for 7 yards and a first down. Samuel had receptions of 6 and 21 yards to move the ball to the Chargers 24 yard line. Croskey-Merritt took a direct snap for 9 yards over the left side and then ran untouched around the left side for a 15 yard touchdown. Gay converted the extra point to cut the lead to 10-7.

After a 25 yard kickoff return, the Chargers ran the ball four times for 14 yards. After the two-minute warning, Daron Payne blew up a screen pass for a 7 yard loss. Hampton gained only 5 yards back on a short pass on third down and long. The Chargers downed the punt at the Washington 7 yard line after Lane let it go past him.

The next series was a strange series of plays. The Chargers forced Washington to punt it away, which they returned for a touchdown; however, the Chargers were called for a roughing the kicker penalty giving Washington a first down. Daniels hit McCaffrey for a 50 yard completion and then hit Samuel for 22 yards one play later. Gay nailed a 29 yard field goal with 5 seconds on the clock to tie the game at 10 each.

The Chargers took a knee to end the half.

Third Quarter

After a 27 yard McCaffrey kickoff return, Croskey-Merritt was stopped for no gain and Danies scrambled for 9 yards on second down. The Chargers were called for 12-men on the field penalty to give Washington a first down. Croskey-Merritt took a swing pass 28 yards down the left sideline to the Chargers 27 yard line. Tay Martin caught a 9 yard pass from Daniels. Daniels picked the first down on a designed run. Croskey-Merritt caught an angle screen for 11 yards to give Washington a first and goal at the 5 yard line. Croskey-Merritt ran around left end untouched again for his second touchdown of the game. The extra point was good giving Washington a 17-10 lead.

Following a 23 yard kickoff return, Johnny Newton sacked Herbert for a 9 yard loss. This was followed by consecutive penalties on Trey Pipkins for holding and a false start. From second and 33, the Chargers gained ten yards before punting it away. Lane fair caught the at the Washington 43 yard line.

Croskey-Merritt started the drive with a 27 yard scamper over the right side of the line. After two incompletions, McNichols picked up the first down on a 12 yard reception and run. Samuel caught a screen for 5 yards. Chris Moore dropped a pass in the end zone and then Washington got a delay of game penalty. After a third down incomplete pass, Gay kicked a 36 yard field goal making the lead 20-10.

After a 21 yard kickoff return, Hampton ran for 3 yards and Johnston had a 3 yard catch. McConkey caught a 6 yard pass for the first down. Herbert ran for 18 yards past a Jeremey Reaves blitz. After an incompletion, Armstrong then sacked Herbert for a 4 yard loss. McConkey had a 12 yard reception making it fourth and two. Washington’s pass rush forced a quick throw and an incompletion for a turnover on downs.

Starting at their own 39 yard line, Croskey-Merritt lost 1 yard on first down. Samuel caught an 18 yard crossing route. Croskey-Merritt ran for 8 yards on first down to end the quarter.

Fourth Quarter

Croskey-Merritt was hit in the backfield right at the handoff point and he fumbled the ball with the Chargers recovering.

After gaining four yards on two plays, Allen had an 11 yard reception for a first down. After a stop for no gain and an incompletion, Herbert hit Johnston for a 10 yard completion for the first down. After gaining 3 yards, Allen had a 9 yard catch for another first down to the Washington 20 yard line. Vidal then had runs of 8 yards and 11 yards to make it first and goal. After an incompletion and three yard loss by Vidal, Sainristil made an interception on a tipped pass by Newton at the goal line to end the drive.

John Bates caught a 9 yard pass to give Washington some breathing room away from the goal line. Croskey-Merritt then has runs of 10 yards and 9 yards. A false start penalty on Trent Scott backed Washington up 5 yards. Samuel picked up the first down on a slip screen, but Washington was called for two holds on the play backing them 10 more yards. The Chargers were called for personal foul – leg whip which gave Washington a first down and moved the ball out to the 40-yard line. Chris Rodriguez gained 1 yard on first down and Daniels scrambled for 8 yards. On third and one, Washington was called for illegal formation to make it third and six. The Chargers were called for pass interference on a throw to Samuel where the Chargers were blitzing. Croskey-Merritt ran for 15 yards breaking several tackles over the left side. Samuel caught another screen, this time for 9 yards down the Chargers 14-yard line. Rodriguez ran twice for 5 yards. After the two-minute warning, they lost two yards on third down. On fourth down, Daniels lobbed the ball into the corner of the end zone, where Samuel hauled it in for the touchdown to seal the game. The successful extra point made it a 27-10 lead with a little over a minute left on the clock.

Trey Lance then came into the game to gain experience in the Chargers system. He completed passes of 9 and 14 yards but was sacked by Miller for 5-yard loss. He had an 11-yard scramble and 21-yard completion to end the game.

Thoughts

How to drive the coaching staff crazy? Have a series like this: 10 point swing in Washington’s favor.

Washington’s 2024 mojo returned with key plays or penalties happening at critical moments to change or keep the game in the Commanders’ favor. From penalties giving Washington first down or taking them away from the Chargers to turnovers that changed the course of the game.

Bill had the best game of his rookie season with 111 yards on 14 attempts with two touchdowns and one fumble. He averaged 7.9 yards per carry. He also had two catches for 39 yards, something else defenses will have to worry about in the future.

Washington’s defense got 5 sacks with Armstrong getting two and Miller having 1.5 sacks. More importantly, they shut down the Chargers for most of the second and third quarters.

Hampton only averaged 3.7 yards per carry and left the game with an ankle injury. Herbert led the Chargers in rushing with 60 yards having gained 41 yards on the one run.

Mike Sainristil leads the team with two interceptions which are the only two the defense has. He also broke up two passes in the game.