Commanders paste Cardinals 42-14 for third straight win

The Commanders didn’t score every time they had the ball on Sunday, but they came awfully close.

Jayden Daniels ran for a touchdown and threw for another to lead the Commanders to a 42-14 win over the Cardinals in Arizona. It’s the third straight win for a Commanders team that will move into Week Five in sole possession of first place in the NFC East.

The Commanders scored touchdowns on their first two drives to extend their streak of scoring to 16 straight possessions, but an interception and a punt brought a brief end to the scoring spree. A field goal before halftime kicked off a run of five more scoring drives, though, and the Commanders cruised to a win in the desert.

Those five drives were their final five offensive possessions of the game, so the team will be able to make a run at an even longer run.

Daniels was 26-of-30 for 233 yards and he ran eight times for 47 yards. Brian Robinson had 20 carries for 83 yards, Jeremy McNichols ran eight times for 68 yards and both men scored touchdowns as the Commanders ran all over the Arizona defense. It’s the second time in three weeks that the Commanders have posted more than 200 rushing yards and any defenses that aren’t already on high alert when Daniels and company roll into town should be now.

The Cardinals got off to a good start as they drove for a touchdown pass from Kyler Murray to Marvin Harrison Jr., but the Commanders defense forced four punts and a turnover on downs over the next five possessions. A James Conner touchdown run late in the third quarter spurred some hope of a comeback, but Daniels hit Terry McLaurin for a score and Cardinals wide receiver Michael Wilson fumbled on the next drive to end the competitive portion of the proceedings.

Arizona is now 1-3 with a trip to Santa Clara to face the 49ers on deck. Their previous losses to the Bills and Lions were hard-fought games, but this one was much more one-sided and the Cardinals will have to shore up that run defense to get back to that kind of effort.

The Commanders will be back at home to face the Browns and they’ll likely be heavy favorites to keep the winning streak going in that one.