The Commanders finally gave one young player a chance and the results should have the coaching staff fired up
Sep 21, 2025; Landover, Maryland, USA; Washington Commanders linebacker Jordan Magee (58) celebrates after making a tackle against the Las Vegas Raiders at Northwest Stadium.
© Geoff Burke-Imagn ImagesWe’ve been looking for more young players to get their chances this season, and many have made the most of their opportunities already.
Some, however, have still been waiting on their name to be called, whether it was due to injuries or just being buried in the depth chart because of the starters. We saw one glaring issue over the first four weeks of the season, and a common theme.
The Commanders’ defense was getting gashed on obvious passing situations, and something needed to change, including Jordan Magee getting playing time.
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Give the young players you drafted a chance
The Commanders couldn’t stop explosive plays, and teams were taking advantage of bad communication and matchup problems for the defense. Veteran Bobby Wagner is a force when it comes to stopping the run and blitzing this season, but his coverage has been a problem early on.
After Wagner played 100% of snaps against the Atlanta Falcons and gave up big plays against Bijan Robinson and Kyle Pitts, the coaching staff finally decided to increase the snap count for Magee on Sunday. He played 12 snaps against the Los Angeles Chargers, which might not seem like a lot, but that’s more than he had all of his rookie season, and matches what he’s had all season so far. Magee made the most of each snap, including a blitz that led to a sack and a tackle for loss in the red zone.
A performance that can lead to more opportunities
Magee showed his athleticism, speed, and ability to make big plays, which also led to trust in big situations with the coaching staff. Head coach Dan Quinn spoke about Magee’s performance on Monday, and it sounds like more opportunities could be coming for the second-year linebacker.
“You know, we’ve talked about him as a special teams player,” Quinn said. “But in this game, we would see some other plays where he would be playing in some different packages. He just played so square
behind the ball that that’s where he’s at his best. He can see it, he can tackle, he can accelerate.
Thought he did a good job disrupting on the blitz. I think he missed on his sack; he was upset about
that, but it was really good to get him going.”
“You have heard me talk about him and with Frankie [Luvu] and Bobby [Wagner] here, we haven’t seen as much. So, I thought it was a good design by Joe [Whitt Jr.] and the staff to have a package that allowed him to really make his impact felt.”
The coaching staff needs to lean into the younger players more and see what they actually have in the players the current regime drafted. We’ve already seen players like Luke McCaffrey, Ben Sinnott, and Bill Croskey-Merritt get increased roles, and hopefully Magee can be the next one to trend upward in his playing time.
Lions get lofty comparison to one of the best offenses in NFL history
The Detroit Lions' offense is off to another strong start to an NFL season. Sunday's 37-24 win over the Cincinnati Bengals was just the latest explosive offensive showing by the Lions this season
Over the last three seasons under coach Dan Campbell, the Lions have had one of the most potent and high-scoring offenses in the NFL. A current stat to start this season has put the Lions offense in company with one of the best offensive teams in NFL history.
Through five games this season, the Lions lead the NFL in touchdowns with 22 scored. Of those 22 touchdowns that have been scored, 13 have been passing, eight rushing, and one punt return score.
The only other team in NFL history to produce those touchdown totals through five games to start a season was the 2000 St. Louis Rams, also known as "The Greatest Show on Turf." The team featured two NFL Hall of Famers, including quarterback Kurt Warner, running back Marshall Faulk, along with wide receivers Isaac Bruce, Torry Holt, Az-Zahir Hakim, and Ricky Proehl.
Lions offense in company with the "Greatest Show on Turf"
The @Lions lead the @NFL with 22 TDs scored in 2025, producing 13 passing TDs, 8 rushing TDs and 1 punt return TD.
The only other team in #NFL history to produce those TD totals through the first five games of any season was the 2000 Rams.#OnePride pic.twitter.com/fQQMIRZ37Z
— Detroit Lions PR (@LionsPR)
The Rams recorded the offensive start that the Lions did, fresh off winning Super Bowl 34, 23-16 over the Tennessee Titans. St. Louis would finish the 2000 season losing 31-28 to the New Orleans Saints in the NFC Wild Card round. Obviously, the Lions would like to avoid the same fate the 2000 Rams did and go all the way to the Super Bowl.
Lions offensive leaders during hot start to 2025 season
Jared Goff is currently ninth in the NFL in passing with 1,187 yards, 12 touchdowns, and two interceptions. One of the 13 touchdown passes thrown this season by the Lions came on Sunday by running back David Montgomery, who threw a 3-yard pass to Brock Wright for a score in the win over the Bengals.
Lions wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown leads the team in receiving with 407 yards and six touchdowns. Of the Lions' eight rushing touchdowns through five games this season, four have been scored by running back Jahmyr Gibbs, along with Montgomery scoring two. Gibbs leads the Lions in rushing with 325 yards on the season.
Wide receiver Kalif Raymond has the Lions' one punt return touchdown this season, which came in the 34-10 win over the Cleveland Browns in week 4.
Lions look to upset the Chiefs again
The Lions look to keep their success going on offense in week 6 as they travel to Arrowhead Stadium to face off against Patrick Mahomes and the reigning AFC Champions, the Kansas City Chiefs.
With the Chiefs a slight favorite over the Lions, it presents the perfect opportunity for Detroit to once again prove the doubters wrong and upset Kansas City once again
