LANDOVER, Md. -- Washington Commanders wide receiver Deebo Samuel caught passes. He lined up in the backfield. He helped block defensive ends, and he scored a touchdown running the ball.
In other words, Samuel provided exactly what Washington anticipated it would get after the Commanders acquired him via trade from the San Francisco 49ers in the offseason.
"The touchdown run was quintessential him," Washington coach Dan Quinn said. "We've seen that movie. That was a part of the reasoning with ... the trade and why it was such a good fit."
Quarterback Jayden Daniels and others called Sunday's 21-6 win against the New York Giants a sloppy day for the offense. But thanks to Samuel and others, the Commanders (1-0) are bullish on what they can do with the ball as they prepare to play at Green Bay (1-0) Thursday (8:15 p.m. ET, Prime Video) -- and beyond.
The Commanders rushed for 220 yards -- the seventh time they've cracked 200 under offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury since the start of last season. They had topped that number only twice in the previous four seasons.
Samuel accounted for 96 yards from scrimmage, including his 19-yard touchdown run, and another 50 on kick returns. He finished with more yards from scrimmage only three times last season with the 49ers. After the trade, Samuel said he heard plenty of speculation this offseason about his speed and what he had left.
"I just go out and do my job," he said. "If they have something to say, they have something to say. It doesn't affect the way I come in and come to work every day."
He adds another element to the Commanders' offense because of his versatility. It's a group that ranked fifth in scoring and seventh in yards last season and has one of the most dynamic quarterbacks in Daniels. They added rookie seventh-round running back Jacory Croskey-Merritt, who rushed 10 times for 82 yards including a 6-yard touchdown.
"We have a lot of diverse playmakers on the team," Washington running back Austin Ekeler said.
The Commanders try to take advantage of that by using a variety of run looks and handing the ball to different players. They'll use the threat of Samuel on a jet sweep or Daniels on a zone read to confuse the defense or at least cause them to hesitate.
Washington did this last season as well, but with Samuels, the Commanders added a diverse threat. On Sunday, they sent him in motion behind the line, had him turn and sprint in back of Daniels, who then spun, faked a handoff to him and gave the ball to Ekeler. The backside of the defense froze, allowing Ekeler to gain 5 yards on a first-and-10.
Washington safety Jeremy Reaves dealt with various levels of deception in practice this summer.
"It's the eye game because the team with the most disciplined eyes does the best on defense," Reaves said. "They [the Washington offense] do such a good job showing you one thing then another, and it goes against a lot of defensive rules. You might see something here, but that contradicts what your rule is and now they have an extra man for you."
Reaves said their ability to attack the edges because of Samuel and Daniels causes defenses to sometimes focus more on contain.
"You can't guess [on defense]," Reaves said, "but it keeps you guessing."
The run game, of course, extended well beyond Samuel's 19-yard run. Daniels rushed for 68 yards after gaining 891 yards on the ground last season as a rookie. Croskey-Merritt, who goes by the name Bill, said he just wants to match those around him.
"That just makes things a thousand times better, having a lot of playmakers around you," he said. "It keeps people guessing, and me being around these guys makes me want to step up to the level these guys are at."
On Sunday, Giants defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence summed up the difficult part in rushing Daniels -- and the element he adds.
"When we wrapped him up we got him down," Lawrence said. "A lot of things was just open gaps he found."
The Commanders' backs say those gaps are created for them as well, simply because of the attention focused on the quarterback.
"It keeps the defense on their toes and when you have a playmaker like Jayden who can run," Ekeler said, "it gives us an extra blocker. It opens up plays for all of us."
Like Samuel. He performed that same motion multiple times. Once he and tight end Zach Ertz served as lead blockers for Daniels around the end for an 8-yard run. Another time he took the handoff and scored -- with some defenders backside hesitating as they eyed Daniels.
It's how Samuel helped San Francisco for six years before requesting a trade following last season. The 49ers were OK to move on from him after a season in which he gained 806 yards from scrimmage -- the lowest of his career in a season in which he played more than seven games.
But he and Daniels developed a chemistry this summer, perhaps aided with Terry McLaurin (contract) not participating in camp.
"I didn't know what it was going to look like to be honest," Samuel said. "But as the flow kept going throughout OTAs and camp, how well we were connecting, we just started to build chemistry and showed it today."
Washington did not extend Samuel's contract, which expires after this season. But the Commanders have liked what they've seen since he arrived -- and the energy Quinn said he brings to practices and the locker room. One teammate referred to him as a "dog" because of how he competes.
"He's a lot of fun to coach," Quinn said. "He plays aggressive and downhill."