Commanders head to Levi's without Croskey-Merritt, facing a 49ers team that hasn't lost all season
Running back Jacory Croskey-Merritt is out tonight with a groin injury, leaving Washington even thinner on offense for a Monday Night Football road trip against unbeaten San Francisco. The Commanders enter at 1-3-1, and a loss would deepen one of the most difficult starts of the Dan Quinn era.
In brief
Commanders arrive in Santa Clara short-handed, needing a win that almost nobody thinks they'll get
By the time Jayden Daniels takes the first snap tonight at Levi's Stadium, Washington's backfield will already be down one of its more dynamic pieces. Running back Jacory Croskey-Merritt has been ruled out for Monday Night Football with a groin injury, according to ESPN, and the Commanders cannot afford to lose anything else in a season that has already gone sideways in a hurry.
Washington is 1-3-1 through five weeks. Their schedule shows losses to the Eagles and Cowboys, a win over the Colts, a loss to the Giants, and a 27-27 tie. Tonight they play a San Francisco 49ers team that has not lost once in 2026. That asymmetry is not subtle.
In Week 6 of Monday Night Football, San Francisco is riding high atop the NFC West with a 5-0 record, having already defeated the defending Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks. The 49ers have posted 13 passing touchdowns, the most in the NFL this season. They are efficient everywhere. Their passer rating in the red zone is the best in the league at 135.26.
Washington's offense has its own problems beyond tonight's missing running back. The Commanders have 237 receiving yards in their own territory this season, the fewest in the NFL. That number points to a team that struggles to move the ball when it has to, not just when it wants to.
The passing game numbers are also telling. Through five games, Daniels has thrown for 459 yards, which ranks 31st in the league. He has three touchdown passes and no interceptions. The zero interceptions matters. A quarterback who doesn't turn the ball over keeps games close. What Daniels hasn't done yet is string together a performance that changes the conversation about where this team stands.
The Commanders let the clock run out in last week's 27-27 tie against the Giants, and now face one of the best teams in the league. That tie, rather than a win, sums up a lot about 2026 Washington. Opportunities squandered, not seized.
The Commanders did arrive with some advantages on paper. Washington ranks second in the NFL in turnover differential this season at plus-5. Teams that take care of the ball and force turnovers can stay in games they have no business being in. That's the version of the Commanders that Daniels and Dan Quinn need tonight, or this season starts to look unsalvageable.
The 2026 season is Washington's 95th in the NFL and the team entered it hoping to improve on an injury-riddled 5-12 record from 2025, make the playoffs after a one-year absence, and end a five-year NFC East title drought. None of those goals are impossible yet. But at 1-3-1 with six weeks gone and the NFC East's best teams already pulling away, the margin shrinks every week.
After last season, Washington fired offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury and defensive coordinator Joe Whitt Jr. Former assistant quarterbacks coach David Blough was promoted to OC, and former Minnesota Vikings defensive pass game coordinator Daronte Jones was hired as defensive coordinator. Neither of those hires has produced a turnaround yet. The defense has been inconsistent. The offense, without Croskey-Merritt tonight, will lean even harder on Daniels and receivers Stefon Diggs and Terry McLaurin.
San Francisco has its own injury questions, having ruled out Deebo Samuel with a hamstring issue ahead of kickoff. But the 49ers' depth is not Washington's depth. San Francisco leads the all-time series against the Commanders 23-12-1. They are not a team that cracks under a missing piece.
The game kicks off tonight at 8:15 p.m. ET at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California, and airs on ESPN and ABC. It starts at 5:15 p.m. on the West Coast, which is a detail that rarely helps road teams from the Eastern time zone.
For Washington fans, the math is straightforward even if the football is not. A loss tonight leaves the Commanders at 1-4-1 with a brutal NFC East schedule still ahead. The Giants, Eagles and Cowboys will not get easier. The window for a course correction is open, but not wide.
Croskey-Merritt's groin will need the bye week to heal. The Commanders won't get one until after Week 8.
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CAN I KICK IT? screens New Jack City at the Sylvan Theater, Washington Monument, on Aug. 22. (Courtesy SHAOLIN JAZZ)
The live-cinema series CAN I KICK IT? returns to the National Mall this month with what its producers are calling the "Gangsters on the Mall" chapter of their free outdoor summer run. On Saturday, August 22, the SHAOLIN JAZZ production brings the 1991 crime classic New Jack City to the Sylvan Theater at the Washington Monument for a night of film, music, and community under the DC summer sky.
What sets the event apart is the sound. As the film plays, DJ 2-Tone Jones builds an original score in real time, reimagining one of the most iconic crime movies of the ’90s through hip-hop, soul, funk, and more. It is less a movie screening than a live performance built around the film.
The details:
Film: New Jack City (1991), with a live soundtrack by DJ 2-Tone Jones
When: Saturday, August 22 — seating opens at 7:30 p.m. (bring lawn chairs and blankets); film begins at 8:30 p.m.
Where: Sylvan Theater at the Washington Monument, Independence Ave SW & 15th St NW
A parking note from the organizers: expect road closures and restricted parking east of 14th Street NW due to a separate race event in the District. Roads west of 14th Street NW will be accessible and available for parking.
New Jack City is the second of three screenings in this year’s free CAN I KICK IT? outdoor series, which opened with Black Panther at Skyland Town Center and concludes with Scarface at the Lincoln Memorial on September 5. Produced by the Washington, DC-based multimedia arts company SHAOLIN JAZZ, the series has presented more than 150 live cinematic experiences at venues across the country, from Lincoln Center to SXSW.
"I wanted to be able to tell good stories with substance and remove the ‘ego’ out of the art," said Andrew Huang during a recent interview. Now, he’s building his career at the intersection of discipline, creativity and innovation.
Andrew Huang, founder of New Place Studios. (Courtesy photo)
As a Chinese American, Huang was reared with a deep respect for hard work, consistency and excellence. He describes his childhood as "not so affluent" and later attended college to hone his passion for videography. "In college I tried to do something I loved, which was video, but along the way I knew that I had to find a job. And so I thought, ‘what was the low hanging fruit to get to that stable 9 to 5 job?,’" he stated.
Later in life, Huang found himself working for corporations where his creativity was often limited, eventually leading to burnout. "I worked in a corporation for a long time and there were a lot of missing pieces. I wanted to fill in gaps missing in corporate video production," said Huang.
He later described how his upbringing and a mindset of "survival" led him toward a corporate career. However, his desire for balance and authentic storytelling ultimately pushed him to take the entrepreneurial leap.
"I founded a new place where you can create video and film with ‘substance and style,’" said Huang. His desire for work-life balance and passion for storytelling naturally evolved into a small business based in Virginia. With the launch of New Place Studios, the entrepreneur quickly found himself reconnecting with the values that would become the foundation of everything he creates behind the camera.
Huang said being a business owner has allowed him to first embrace himself. While others may see video as simply capturing moments, he sees it as a way to preserve stories that inspire, connect and leave a lasting imprint.
By combining cinematic visuals with cutting-edge production techniques and a keen understanding of branding, Huang helps organizations and individuals communicate their vision with purpose. He said understanding a client’s "why" serves as the compass for delivering the services they need.
One benefit of working with a small business, he said, is that clients get to see the production process unfold through a micro lens while working with the same faces throughout the entire project. "The work feels personal," said Huang.
Huang does not regret leaving behind the flash-over-substance mentality and corporate hustle culture. That does not mean the Asian American entrepreneur has been without challenges in the industry. "It’s relatively hard to find other Asian American creatives or people who would want to work with me in the DMV," said Huang.
He identifies the industry culture in which everyone is trying to blend in, creatives may fear displaying their Asian identity and some feel pressure to adopt an American corporate persona. He also points to what he describes as a level of gatekeeping within the industry. According to the U.S. Small Business Administration’s 2024 statistics, Asian American and Pacific Islander entrepreneurs own more than 3 million businesses and employ 5.2 million people in the United States.
After tapping into organizations such as SCORE, which offers free small business mentorship, New Place Studios has become a trusted creative partner throughout the DMV (Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia). The company produces a range of creative services, including commercials, corporate branding, documentaries, film, 2D animation, motion graphics and photography.
For Huang, entrepreneurship has become more than a departure from corporate life. It has given him the freedom to create with intention, build meaningful connections and tell stories that go beyond the surface.
The 2026 CAN I KICK IT? outdoor series. Poster courtesy of SHAOLIN JAZZ.
For three Saturdays this summer, some of Washington’s most familiar public spaces will do something they rarely do after dark: fill up with blankets, lawn chairs, and the sound of a movie being scored live, in real time. CAN I KICK IT?, the traveling “live cinema” series produced by the DC-based multimedia arts company SHAOLIN JAZZ, is bringing a free outdoor run to the city — pairing three era-defining films with an original soundtrack performed on the spot by DJ 2-Tone Jones.
The premise is what sets it apart from a normal screening in the park. Rather than simply pressing play, 2-Tone Jones builds a score as the film unfolds, pulling from hip-hop, soul, funk, jazz, rock, electronic music, and sounds from around the world. The result, the organizers say, is less a movie night than a one-time performance — the same film you know, wired to a soundtrack you have never heard and will not hear again. Guest DJs warm up the crowd starting at 7:30 PM before each 8:30 PM screening.
The 2026 outdoor schedule
All three events are free and open to the public.
Saturday, August 8 — Black Panther at Skyland Town Center. A pop-up marketplace and community activities kick off the evening; guest DJs at 7:30 PM, film at 8:30 PM. Marvel’s superhero epic gets a one-night-only live score in Southeast DC.
Saturday, August 22 — New Jack City at the Sylvan Theater, Washington Monument. Seating begins at 7:30 PM; the film starts at 8:30 PM. The 1991 crime drama plays out at the foot of one of the country’s most recognizable landmarks.
Saturday, September 5 — Scarface at the Lincoln Memorial. Seating at 7:30 PM; film at 8:30 PM. The series closes with Brian De Palma’s crime saga against the backdrop of the Memorial, scored live from start to finish.
First up: Black Panther at Skyland Town Center on August 8. Poster courtesy of SHAOLIN JAZZ.
A DC company with a national footprint
SHAOLIN JAZZ describes itself as a Washington-based arts company working at the intersection of music, film, art, and culture, and CAN I KICK IT? is its signature production. According to the organizers, the series has staged more than 150 live cinematic experiences around the country — at performing arts centers, museums, festivals, and cultural institutions including Lincoln Center in New York, SXSW, the Denver Center for the Performing Arts, Republic Square in Austin, the Tacoma Armory, and The Cary Theater.
“CAN I KICK IT? has always been about creating a shared experience,” said Gerald Watson, co-founder of SHAOLIN JAZZ. “When you combine iconic films with live music in public spaces, something special happens. People aren’t just watching a movie — they’re experiencing it together. That’s what makes these nights so memorable.”
Cinema as a community event
The DC run lands as cities across the country look for new ways to activate public space through arts and culture — and this series is a straightforward pitch for how to do it: take a landmark everyone already knows, add a film everyone has an opinion about, and let a live soundtrack turn the evening into something neighbors experience shoulder to shoulder. Families, film buffs, and music fans are all invited, and admission won’t cost a thing.
The CAN I KICK IT? outdoor series runs August 8, August 22, and September 5. All events are free; check SHAOLIN JAZZ (shaolinjazz.com) for the latest details and any weather updates before heading out.
