Jacory Croskey-Merritt — Week 2: Twelve Carries, No First Downs
2026 NFL Season · Half-PPR Scoring · Monday, Sep 21
Croskey-Merritt carried 12 times for 43 yards with a long of nine and no first downs, caught his one target for five, and recovered Jayden Daniels's aborted snap at the Dallas 20 early in the second quarter. Rachaad White took all three third-and-short carries and Kaytron Allen all five on the final drive, in a 37–20 loss to the Cowboys.
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The full episode, in writing
10 to nothing, Cowboys, 14 25 left in the second quarter, second and five at the Dallas nine. Jayden Daniels fumbled an aborted snap at the 15, and Jacory Croskey-Merritt recovered it at the 20 and was tackled at the 22. −2.2 expected points added — expected points added is what a play was worth given down, distance and field position — and −5 points of win probability, the chance of winning the game after the play against before it. The recovery kept the possession, and Washington kicked a field goal two snaps later. One snap earlier he had carried for five from the 14, his only carry inside the Dallas 20.
The line: 12 carries, 43 yards, no touchdown, no first downs, four of the 12 successful, −1.4 expected points; one target, one catch, five yards. The carries went −1, nothing, two, six, five, four, one, four, four, one, nine, eight. Eight before halftime for 21 yards, four after for 22, the nine and the eight coming on consecutive first-and-tens late in the third quarter. Nine of the 12 were on first down, none was on third down, and none came in the fourth quarter.
The split: Croskey-Merritt 12 designed runs, Rachaad White seven, Kaytron Allen five, and the aborted snap. Before halftime it was Croskey-Merritt eight and White six; after it, Allen five, Croskey-Merritt four, White one. 25 designed runs gained a hundred 10 yards against 35 pass plays, and Daniels added 69 on six scrambles. His 43 yards matched White's 43 on five more carries. White had all three of the third-and-short carries and converted each; Allen had all five carries on the last possession.
Back in June the preview made no call on Croskey-Merritt — the 40-first back off the board at pick one 23, a fair price for a 17-game starter whose 805 yards were real and whose points came a third from touchdowns, with nine catches all year — and it said to watch the targets. Week 1 was 16 carries, 63 yards, a touchdown, and one target that lost seven. Sunday was 12 carries and one target again, and his share of the designed runs went from 16 of 29 to 12 of 25. The lead role is intact by carry count and thinner at the edges, where the short-yardage work went to White. Two games settle little. The number to watch is still the targets, and it is still one a week. Washington is home to the Seahawks on Sunday the 20-seventh.
_Data via nflverse._
When Jacory Croskey-Merritt's week moves the numbers, you'll know — every episode, in one weekly email.
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