— One final note: the Daniels statistic is about two consecutive games of all scoring drive? Tom Brady, Patrick Mahomes, Peyton Manning and Drew Brees have combined to do that a total of twice, over 1,094 starts including playoffs.

— Trey McBride wasn’t ready to make a healthy scratch in his first NFL game in his 2022 rookie season. He was so used to playing. Now he’s too good not to play. But injuries happen and McBride’s concussion will keep him out on Sunday. McBride hasn’t had a breakout game yet in 2024, but he remains so important in the passing game and on offense. He will be missed in Washington’s tight end-prone defense.

Elijah Higgins wants to take on the role of McBride. Tip Reiman might get a few more passes. And we should see Travis Vokolek active for the first time.

— It feels somewhat ironic that veteran tight end Zach Ertz, whose injury last season opened the door for McBride’s time and ultimately led to Ertz asking for his release, will play in this game for Washington while McBride sits out with an injury .

— Speaking of injuries, Gannon was asked if rookie defensive lineman Darius Robinson, who is eligible to come off IR next week with his calf problem, will be back. Gannon said he didn’t want to delve into hypotheticals. Rookie tackle Christian Jones and rookie cornerback Elijah Jones could theoretically return as well.

— Former Cardinals coach Kliff Kingsbury is back for this game as the offensive coordinator for the Commanders. He talked about Murray and the Cardinals this week while Washington practiced locally at ASU, and not surprisingly Kingsbury spoke kindly about both Kyler and his time as coach.

On Murray: “It was fun to watch him. At the end of last year I thought you could see the confidence coming back in the knee and making some big plays and playing really well. It was a couple of plays away from winning. ” undefeated (when Kyler returned). You can see the speed and competitive nature. It was great to see. That’s a guy I based my entire career on, and I still believe in seeing him play the way he is.”

As for how his tenure with the Cardinals ended, he was asked if he was bitter. “Not at all.”

“That’s why I still have my house here. I love it here,” Kingsbury said. “I will always be grateful to Michael (Bidwill) for giving me the opportunity he did. The first fired college coach to ever get that opportunity. Some of the guys in that building are my best friends and on the team, James Conner, Budda (Baker), they still inspire me with nothing but positive memories.”

— Second-string turned starting right tackle Kelvin Beachum, after missing last week with a hamstring injury, is listed as questionable for a second straight game. Charlie Heck is available on the practice squad, but last week’s PS starter, Jackson Barton, ended up on IR this week after hurting his toe.

Meanwhile, right guard Will Hernandez shrugs when asked if there are that many neighbors of his in games so far: four in three games.

“It’s part of football, you know?” Hernández said. “You were never promised a perfect season, you were never promised a perfect screenplay. So it would be pointless for me to say, ‘Oh, this sucks, or ‘It’s different every week. That’s just the truth. ” “

— The defense has played well at times and made some key plays. They’ve racked up 26 negative plays, which is tied for the NFL lead.

— The Cardinals played the Commanders a little over a year ago. It was the 2023 season opener in Washington DC. The starting QBs were Joshua Dobbs and Sam Howell, and I’m telling you, it looks like that way more than a year ago.

–Marvin Harrison Jr. and Commanders cornerback Mike Sainristil know each other a little. They were on opposite sides of one of college football’s biggest rivalries, with MHJ at Ohio State and Sainristil at Michigan. So, Harrison was asked, does that rivalry between the two still exist?

“You have to move on at some point,” Harrison said. ‘The council now supports us. I didn’t win any, so there’s not much to discuss.”

Michigan has won three straight in the series – all three Harrisons participated.

— Kyler Murray’s next TD pass is the 100^e of his career.

— The Cardinals have only 14 penalties in three games. That’s their lowest total through the first three games since 2002. (You remember the 2002 Cardinals, right? Jake Plummer, David Boston in what became their final seasons in Arizona and a 4-2 start. We’ll talk about the rest not have. of the season.)

— The final word belongs to Hernandez and the run game, after the Cardinals struggled to run the ball last week. While Gannon said the Cardinals should be able to pass even if they can’t run, Hernandez focused on the ground.

“I’m a big believer that you have to be able to control the ball to open things up. We have players who can make things happen both ways and that’s what makes us so good, but at the end of the day, we can do that.” I don’t have to rely on anyone else to get the job done for us. The way I see it, it’s the O-line’s responsibility to get the run game going. It wasn’t good enough, and we can’t let it happen again. “