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Commanders rookie RB Jacory Croskey-Merritt does it again
If once is an accident, twice is a coincidence, and three times is a pattern, then by the fourth time, it becomes a standard—a standard that Washington Commanders rookie running back Jacory Croskey-Merritt is writing with the force of a sledgehammer. For the fourth time this season, the dynamic first-year player has seized the Pepsi Zero Sugar Rookie of the Week honor, this time following a Week 17 masterclass against the Dallas Cowboys where he gashed their defense for 105 rushing yards and two touchdowns on a mere 11 carries, a staggering 9.5 yards per touch. This isn't just a hot streak; it's a declaration, a statistical symphony that echoes the early careers of legends like Terrell Davis or Alvin Kamara, players who announced their arrival not with a whisper but with a series of seismic performances.Croskey-Merritt’s day was a study in explosive efficiency. His first score, a 10-yard bruiser late in the second quarter, showcased the blend of power and vision that defines his game, as he took a handoff from veteran Josh Johnson, powered through the initial line, and bounced off would-be tacklers in the secondary to cut into a Dallas lead.It extended his personal scoring streak to three games, a testament to growing consistency. Yet, the exclamation point came early in the third quarter, a breathtaking 72-yard touchdown sprint that was the longest of his young career.Bursting through a gap on the right side, he hit a top speed of 21. 62 mph—the fastest recorded of his season—and raced nearly seventy-five percent of the field untouched, a display of breakaway speed that transforms a solid running game into a lethal one.This marked his second multi-touchdown game of the year, and his two scores accounted for the entirety of Washington’s touchdowns in a 23-point Christmas Day effort, with kicker Jake Moody providing the remaining points. Analytically, Croskey-Merritt’s season is a case study in rookie impact.He now sits at 776 rushing yards and eight touchdowns, leading the Commanders’ rushing attack by a colossal 341 yards and outpacing teammate Chris Rodriguez Jr. by three rushing scores.More impressively, his four Rookie of the Week awards (Weeks 1, 5, 15, and 17) make him the only first-year player to claim the honor multiple times this season, placing him in a rarefied air that often forecasts Offensive Rookie of the Year contention. The context here is crucial.Washington, a franchise in a perennial state of reconstruction, has long sought a foundational offensive piece around which to build. In Croskey-Merritt, they may have found not just a contributor but a centerpiece—a back whose combination of between-the-tackles grit and home-run ability forces defensive coordinators to stack the box, thereby opening opportunities in the passing game.
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#Pepsi Zero Sugar Rookie of the Week
