LANDOVER, Md. — Tied at 10-10 with the Las Vegas Raiders in a game that felt like the Washington Commanders should have been up two scores, quarterback Marcus Mariota was doing his best to lead the team to its second victory of the season, and while nobody was truly worried, things were a bit too close for comfort at the time.

Running back Jeremy McNichols offered a jolt of confidence with a 60-yard touchdown run, but the Commanders wanted more. Instead of feeling like they were leading by two scores, they wanted to make it a reality.

So, with time winding down, Mariota took a quarterback sweep to try and get the ball positioned for an end-of-half Matt Gay field goal try. It seemed like a good idea , one that would simultaneously run the clock down so that the Raiders didn’t get t

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