Chargers' injured O-line faces Commanders' ineffective pass rush in showdown of struggling fronts

INGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) — It’s hard to win without controlling the line of scrimmage, as the Washington Commanders and Los Angeles Chargers were reminded last week.

The Commanders couldn’t rush the passer in a 34-27 loss at the Atlanta Falcons, and the Chargers failed to protect Justin Herbert as their undefeated start ended with a 21-18 defeat at the New York Giants, putting the teams' respective struggles up front in the spotlight when they face off Sunday.

Washington (2-2) managed just one sack and gave Michael Penix Jr. enough time to throw for a career-best 313 yards. That lack of pressure allowed Penix to pick apart the Commanders’ secondary, which is allowing 8.1 yards per pass attempt this season. Only two NFL clubs are worse — the Dallas Cowboys (8.8) and Miami Dolphins (8.3).

Coach Dan Quinn wasn’t pleased with the lack of a pass rush against the Falcons and wondered aloud whether some extra pressure could have been generated by trying different schemes.

“I thought, ‘When are we going to take our shots?’ … I thought we could have stunted more to try to put the offensive line in some disadvantages,” Quinn said. “I do feel like we’ve got to get them off the spot.”

The Commanders have 10 sacks, which puts them in a seven-way tie for 12th in the league, but half of that total came in one game — against the Las Vegas Raiders, who have one of the NFL’s worst offensive lines.

The Chargers (3-1) might not be much better in protection than their AFC West rivals right now, with offensive tackle Joe Alt ruled out Friday after spraining his right ankle at the Meadowlands. Alt moved over from right tackle to left tackle when Rashawn Slater sustained a season-ending patellar tendon tear in August, and the drop-off without the second-year Notre Dame product left Herbert under constant duress from the Giants’ formidable pass rush.

Herbert expressed optimism about his blind-side security without Alt available, which seems likely to come from Jamaree Salyer this week after Austin Deculus struggled badly against New York.

“Thankfully, we’ve got so many guys that are going to step up and contribute to the team,” Herbert said. “They’re gonna go out there, you know, we’re gonna give our best every week, and I think they’re gonna do a great job stepping in.”

Washington quarterback Jayden Daniels is set to return from a left knee injury that kept him out the past two games. Daniels’ recovery is all the more fortuitous because he was born in San Bernardino, some 70 miles east of SoFi Stadium.

“It would mean the world,” Daniels said of the chance to play Sunday. “I plan on having a lot of people attend the game. … To be able to play back in my hometown as a pro, it would mean everything.”

Daniels’ presence means the Chargers will have to deal with another mobile quarterback after failing to contain Jaxson Dart, who rushed for 54 yards and a touchdown in his first career start. Safety Alohi Gilman said the defense wasn’t focused enough on the details needed to limit both designed runs and scrambles, and the team will need to be locked in against Daniels.

“Obviously, he’s an elite player,” Gilman said of Daniels, who had 891 yards rushing and six touchdowns as a rookie. “I think we’re excited for the challenge, excited for what he brings.”

The Commanders are 2-0 at home and 0-2 on the road. A common thread to those losses was slow starts. Washington trailed Atlanta 10-0 after the first quarter last week and fell behind 14-0 midway through the second quarter of a Week 2 defeat at Green Bay.

“We just have to make sure we can hit the gas early,” Quinn said. “I didn’t feel that going into preparation or any of that, but the results are what they are. We’ve got to make sure we can find our edge and make sure that weighs different and feels different and feels aggressive at the start.”

After intercepting 15 passes and recovering six fumbles last season, forcing turnovers has been much harder for Los Angeles through the first month of the season. The Chargers had three picks against the Raiders in Week 2 but did not have a takeaway in their other three games.

“I think teams are doing a good job of trying to protect themselves, but I also think we have some chances to make sure we’re taking advantage of those opportunities. We got to be a little bit more conscious and aware of it, but it’ll come,” Gilman said.

AP Sports Writer Howard Fendrich in Ashburn, Virginia, contributed to this report.

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Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Penix Jr., right, is sacked by Washington Commanders linebacker Frankie Luvu, below, during the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Sept. 28, 2025, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)

Washington Commanders head coach Dan Quinn reacts during the first half of an NFL football game against the Atlanta Falcons, Sunday, Sept. 28, 2025, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)

Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert (10) is sacked by the New York Giants during the fourth quarter of an NFL football game, Sunday, Sept. 28, 2025, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

Los Angeles Chargers kicker Cameron Dicker (11) is congratulated by teammates after kicking a field goal against the New York Giants during the second quarter of an NFL football game, Sunday, Sept. 28, 2025, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)

Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert (10) gets up off the turf after throwing an interception against the New York Giants during the first quarter of an NFL football game, Sunday, Sept. 28, 2025, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)

ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — The United States airstrikes that targeted Islamic State militants in northwestern Nigeria on Thursday marked a major escalation in an offensive that Nigeria's overstretched military has struggled with for years.

U.S. President Donald Trump said on social media that the “powerful and deadly” strikes were carried out against Islamic State militants “targeting and viciously killing, primarily, innocent Christians.” Residents and security analysts have said Nigeria’s security crisis affects both Christians, predominant in the south, and Muslims, who are the majority in the north.

Nigeria, which is battling multiple armed groups, said the U.S. strikes were part of an exchange of intelligence and strategic coordination between the two countries.

The Associated Press could not confirm the extent of the strikes' impact. U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, in a post on X about the airstrikes, said: “More to come...”

The armed groups in Africa’s most populous country include at least two affiliated with the Islamic State — an offshoot of the Boko Haram extremist group known as the Islamic State West Africa Province in the northeast, and the lesser-known Islamic State Sahel Province (ISSP) known locally as Lakurawa and prominent in the northwest.

Although officials did not say exactly which group was targeted, security analysts said the target, if indeed against Islamic State militants, was likely members of Lakurawa, which became more lethal in border states like Sokoto and Kebbi in the last year, often targeting remote communities and security forces.

The Nigerian military has said in the past that the group has roots in neighboring Niger and that it became more active in Nigeria's border communities following a 2023 military coup. That coup resulted in fractured relations between Nigeria and Niger, and affected their multinational military operations along the porous border.

Multiple analysts have said Lakurawa has been active in northwest Nigeria since around 2017 when it was invited by traditional authorities in Sokoto to protect their communities from bandit groups.

The militants, however, "overstayed their welcome, clashing with some of the community leaders ... and enforcing a harsh interpretation of sharia law that alienated much of the rural population,” according to James Barnett, an Africa researcher with the Washington-based Hudson Institute.

“Communities now openly say that Lakurawa are more oppressive and dangerous than the bandits they claim to protect them from," according to Malik Samuel, a Nigerian security researcher with Good Governance Africa.

Lakurawa controls territories in Sokoto and Kebbi states, and has become known for killings, kidnapping, rape and armed robbery, Samuel said.

But some of the attacks blamed on Lakurawa are by the Islamic State Sahel Province, which has expanded from Niger’s Dosso region to northwestern Nigeria, according to the U.S.-based Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project.

“ISSP has maintained a low profile, operating covertly to infiltrate and entrench itself along the Niger-Nigeria border, and is now also expanding its operations toward the Beninese border,” the project said in a recent report.

The security woes are more of a governance problem than a military one.

Motives for attacks differ but the gangs are often driven by the near absence of a state and security presence in conflict hot spots, making recruitment easy. Those hot spots, data show, have some of the country's highest levels of poverty, hunger and lack of jobs.

Nigeria’s Minister of Defense Christopher Musa once said in his past capacity as the defense chief that military action is only 30% of what is needed to fix the country's security crisis, while the remaining 70% depends on good governance.

“The absence of the state in remote communities is making it easy for non-state actors to come in and present themselves to the people as the best alternative government,” said Samuel.

Thursday's U.S. strikes were seen as crucial help for Nigeria’s security forces, which are often overstretched and outgunned as they fight multiple security crises across different regions.

In states like Sokoto, the military often carries out airstrikes targeting militant hideouts and Nigeria has embarked on mass recruitment of security forces.

But analysts say military operations targeting the gangs are not usually sustained and the militants easily move on motorcycles to new locations through vast forests that connect several states in the north.

They also often use hostages — including schoolchildren — as cover, making airstrikes difficult.

President Donald Trump arrives on Air Force One at Palm Beach International Airport, Saturday, Dec. 20, 2025, in West Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

President Donald Trump speaks at his Mar-a-Lago club, Monday, Dec. 22, 2025, in Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)