Several young players stood out in Thursday’s game, none more so than rookie running back Jacory Croskey-Merritt. The seventh-round pick out of Arizona carried the ball for 105 yards and two touchdowns. Both Croskey-Merritt touchdowns were impressive, but it was the second that brought Washington fans to their feet at Northwest Stadium and at home.
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Trailing by 14 points in the third quarter, Croskey-Merritt took Josh Johnson’s pass and ran through all 11 Dallas defenders on his way to a 72-yard touchdown run. That touchdown run made it a ball game, as the Cowboys only led by 7 points afterward.
Croskey-Merritt, also known as Bill, was a popular man in the postgame locker room. They asked him what he saw on the long touchdown run.
“I saw the light of day and thought, ‘This is my chance to show that when it’s open country, I can go the distance,'” he said. “And I mean, it worked, it worked perfectly.”
Washington has had numerous running backs over the years. Some good ones too. How many could take it to the house from 70+ yards like Croskey-Merritt did?
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With one game left, Croskey-Merritt has 776 rushing yards and eight touchdowns. He averages 4.8 yards per rushing attempt. Not bad numbers for a seventh-round rookie. What makes Bill’s season even more impressive is that he did it in a part-time position. The Commanders have had four running backs play this season. Week 1 starter Austin Ekeler was lost in Week 2, with Croskey-Merritt, Chris Rodriguez Jr. and Jeremy McNichols taking over at times for the remainder of the season. Croskey-Merritt has had eight games with fewer than 10 carries.
Reaching the 1,000-yard mark in his rookie season is a long shot, but with a big game against the Eagles next week to close out the season, Bill could reach the 900-yard mark, which would be a notable achievement.
This article originally appeared on Commanders Wire: Washington Commanders: What did Bill see in the big run against the Cowboys?