THE Washington Commanders are back home at Northwest Stadium, riding the momentum of a 27-22 victory over the New York Giants, as they prepare to face the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 10.

THE Commanders are determined to end a two-game home losing streak against Pittsburgh. The last time these two teams met, Washington handed the 11-0 Steelers their first loss in Week 13 of the 2020 season.

With a record of 7-2, Washington has a chance to go 8-2, something they haven’t seen since 1986. And it’s not just the team that’s poised to do big things; a few players are on the verge of reaching their own career milestones. Here’s what to watch as Washington begins Week 10:

1

Tight end Zach Ertz is knocking on the door of two major milestones. With just one more reception, he will pass Greg Olsen (742) for sixth all-time in receptions by a tight end. Additionally, another touchdown will tie him with Raymond Chester (48) for 17th all-time in touchdowns by a tight end.

Linebacker Frankie Luvu also plans to hit a milestone, needing just one more sack to reach 25 career sacks.

And catcher Terry McLaurin is about to hit two big strikes of his own. McLaurin is one touchdown away from his 30th career touchdown, and this game will mark his 90th career appearance.

2

Running back Austin Ekeler is closing in on history with 8,769 career scrimmage yards. He’s just over 100 yards away from passing Arian Foster (8,873) for the second-most scrimmage yards by an undrafted back since 1967, behind Priest Holmes (11,134). Ekeler is also just two catches away from passing Steven Jackson (461) for 26th all-time in receptions by a running back.

Terry McLaurin needs just two catches to surpass Jerry Smith (421) for sixth in franchise history in receptions.

Daron Payne is 2.5 sacks away from entering the top 10 in team history.

Linebacker Bobby Wagner is just two interceptions away from reaching 15 in his career.

3

The Washington travel schedule is pretty light when it comes to cross-country travel this season. After their Week 4 game in Arizona, they will only leave the Eastern Time Zone twice more, with games in New Orleans (Week 14) and Dallas (Week 17).

4

While these may be tough stages for Sunday, they are definitely worth keeping an eye on as the season progresses. Receiver Terry McLaurin is on track for elite company: He needs 50 more receptions and 900 receiving yards to become just the fourth player in NFL history to reach both marks over the course of each of his first six seasons. That would put him alongside legends like Mike Evans, AJ Green and Randy Moss.

McLaurin could also make history with 75 catches and 1,000 receiving yards, joining Torry Holt, Brandon Marshall and Randy Moss as the only players to reach those numbers in five of their first six seasons.

5

Bobby Wagner is also on the cusp of a milestone, needing just five more sacks to reach 40 in his career, although that’s unlikely to happen on Sunday.

6

While it’s unlikely to happen on Sunday, one season milestone to watch for Austin Ekeler is his quest to become the sixth running back in NFL history to record 500 receptions in his first eight seasons. Ekeler, currently with 462 catches, would join an elite group that includes Marshall Faulk (548), LaDainian Tomlinson (510), Christian McCaffrey (509 in seven seasons), Roger Craig (508) and Alvin Kamara (505 in seven seasons) .

Defensive lineman Daron Payne also has a milestone coming up, needing six tackles for loss to reach 60 for his career.

7

Washington has won seven of rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels’ first nine starts, and with a win Sunday, Daniels could join Ben Roethlisberger (10 wins) and Dak Prescott (nine) as the only rookie quarterbacks to notch at least eight wins in of their first. 10 career starts. Daniels also has a perfect 4-0 record at home, with a chance to become the fourth rookie quarterback since 1950 to win each of his first five starts at home, joining Chris Chandler (1988), Ben Roethlisberger (2004) and Russell Wilson (2012).

While it’s unlikely to happen on Sunday, Austin Ekeler is also closing in on a historic milestone. He needs seven more touchdown receptions to surpass Marshall Faulk (36) for the most touchdowns by a running back in the Super Bowl era; Ekeler currently has 30 career touchdowns.

8

Zach Ertz is eyeing another major milestone, needing just eight more catches to become the sixth tight end in NFL history to reach 750 receptions. He would join an elite group including Tony Gonzalez (1,325), Jason Witten (1,228), Antonio Gates (955), Travis Kelce (907 as of 2023) and Shannon Sharpe (815). Currently, Ertz has 742 career receptions.

9

Zach Ertz is also just 216 receiving yards away from 8,000 career receiving yards. Reaching this milestone would make him just the ninth tight end in NFL history to reach the 8,000-yard mark. While it’s unlikely to happen on Sunday, it’s certainly an important milestone to watch for the rest of the season.

Although running back Brian Robinson Jr. was ruled out of Sunday’s game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, he is just nine rushing yards away from reaching 2,000 career rushing yards. If he achieves that goal, Robinson Jr. would become the fifth running back in Washington history to record 2,000 rushing yards in his first three seasons. I hope he can take this step when he returns to the field.

10

With last week’s win against the New York Giants, head coach Dan Quinn reached 50 career regular season wins. The milestone places him 10th among all active NFL coaches in total wins.

As the Commanders enter Week 10, there are plenty of things to watch for when they take on the Steelers this Sunday.

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