The Washington Commanders look to get back on track this Sunday when they host the Las Vegas Raiders at Northwest Stadium. The Commanders returned to practice on Wednesday without several starters. Washington lost running back Austin Ekeler and defensive end Deatrich Wise for the season in last week’s loss to Green Bay. Quarterback Jayden Daniels injured his knee in the game. While it’s not considered a significant injury, the Commanders will be overly cautious with their franchise passer.

Tight end John Bates and wide receiver Noah Brown also missed Wednesday’s practice. Head coach Dan Quinn said on Monday that both players would be long shots to play on Sunday against the Raiders.

Las Vegas is coming off a late Monday night game and must travel across the country to face Washington. Fortunately for the Raiders, they’re mostly healthy.

As always, matchups often determine the outcomes of games. Coaches spend all week looking for the perfect matchup to exploit. Here are four matchups to watch for the Commanders this weekend.

Commanders RT Josh Conerly Jr. vs. Raiders DE Maxx Crosby

Conerly has had a rough start to his rookie season, facing the Giants’ defensive line in Week 1 and Micah Parsons in Week 2. Things do not get any easier on Sunday as he’ll likely see another of the NFL’s top pass rushers in Maxx Crosby. The Raiders will line up Crosby on both sides, but often look for matchups. They watched Conerly struggle against Parsons last week and will certainly look to get Crosby isolated against the rookie on Sunday. How will Washington handle this matchup? The Commanders can’t allow Crosby to singlehandedly wreck the game like Parsons did last week.

Commanders RB Bill Croskey-Merritt vs. Raiders’ front seven

With Ekeler’s injury, the rookie seventh-round pick takes over as Washington’s lead back. We will see Jeremy McNichols and Chris Rodriguez, too, but Croskey-Merritt gets the first chance. The rookie was outstanding in Week 1 against the Giants, but he only received four carries (17 yards) against Green Bay. The Raiders have been stout against the run, allowing only 70.5 rushing yards per game. So much of Washington’s offense is reliant on the run. If Jayden Daniels doesn’t play, the offense will not change. Marcus Mariota, while not as mobile as Daniels, can still run the Commanders’ read-option offense. Washington needs Croskey-Merritt to have a big game on Sunday with Daniels either potentially limited or out.

Commanders WR Deebo Samuel vs. Raiders CB Kyu Blu-Kelly

Deebo Samuel could be the key to getting Washington’s offense going against the Raiders. Samuel will likely be matched up with Blu-Kelly at times in the passing game. Commanders’ fans will remember Blu-Kelly, who appeared in two games in 2023 and was waived during final cuts in 2024. Samuel can not only create mismatches in the passing game, but he can also give the running game a boost, lining up across the formation. Samuel could be the Commanders’ most important offensive player on Sunday.

Commanders’ defense vs. Raiders TE Brock Bowers

We say the entire defense because who is going to cover Bowers? He has 10 receptions through two games, but broke a rookie record with 112 receptions in 2024. Bowers is already an elite offensive weapon, and if you watched the loss to the Packers last week, you saw what Tucker Kraft did to Washington’s defense. Bowers is even better. Dan Quinn knows the key to stopping the Raiders is making Geno Smith look to his receivers and not his tight ends. Las Vegas also has another excellent young tight end in Michael Mayer. The Commanders’ No. 1 defensive goal should be to prevent Bowers from going off.