The Washington Commanders are coming back to Northwest Stadium to take on the Cleveland Browns in Week 5 and looking for their first 4-1 start since 2008. Here are five keys to them getting a victory.

1. Stop the run.

The Browns have established a reputation as having one of the best rushing offenses in the NFL, particularly whenever Nick Chubb is healthy. The Pro Bowl running back is anything but, however, and there is some doubt as to whether Sunday will be his first game back after sustaining a traumatic knee injury over a year ago.

This year's Browns have not been the dominant rushing force of previous seasons, and they rank 26th in yards per game and 29th in rushing attempts. That doesn't mean the Commanders should overlook them, though, because Washington has given up the 12th most rushing yards per game in 2024. Cardinals running back James Conner rushed for 104 yards against them, though in fairness much of that came when the Commanders had a large lead and were playing to stop the pass.

Still, the Commanders have had a hard time of stopping runs up the middle, thanks in part to their defensive linemen over pursuing upfield. The Browns' offense is a struggling unit; they are using more of a passing scheme, but even that feels laborious for them at times with their 3.9 yards per play ranking last in the league. Washington must prevent the Browns from gaining any momentum, and shoring up one of their own most glaring weaknesses would go a long way towards that.

2. Take advantage of one-on-one opportunities.

It doesn't take much film study to know that defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz is going to bring pressure on the Commanders come Sunday. His Browns unit has the sixth-highest blitz percentage in the league through four games, and the one time Jayden Daniels looked human this season was in Week 1, when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers brought pressure to confuse and flush him out of the pocket.

It also doesn't require Kliff Kingsbury's high-level understanding of offenses to know that more pressure means more one-on-one opportunities for Washington's receivers. Kingsbury and his offense must capitalize on these.

While the Browns do put their cornerbacks on an island more than most teams, they also have the personnel to do so. Martin Emerson Jr., Denzel Ward and Greg Newsome II spearheaded a secondary that is 10th best against the pass. According to Pro Football Focus, the Browns are also a top man coverage defense in first down-plus-touchdown rate allowed (33%).

Fortunately, the Commanders have one of the man-coverage beaters in Terry McLaurin, who has six receptions for 60 yards against man coverage. He scored the game-sealing touchdown against the Cincinnati Bengals against man coverage, and he and Daniels connection has continued to blossom since then.

If Daniels has enough time to see his matchups, it could be another big day for McLaurin.

3. Keep Deshaun Watson in the pocket.

Deshaun Watson is at the root of the Browns' offensive struggles this season. His 61.5% completion rate isn't glaringly bad, but it is 27th in the league, and he's averaging the third lowest yards per pass thrown (4.9). He's also fumbled the ball four times, two of which were recovered by opposing teams, and thrown three interceptions.

If there's one area where Watson is still elite, it's extending plays with his legs, evidenced by his 117 rushing yards. Preventing his escape will be a critical part of the Commanders' game plan.

The Commanders have at least shown they are capable of such a feat. Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray was held to one rush attempt for just the third time in his career, and his three yards are tied for the fourth lowest in his 69 games. Defensive coordinator Joe Whitt Jr. harped on the importance of not getting too far upfield to his players, and to their credit, they listened and put together by far their best defensive performance of the season.

As encouraging as the Commanders' defense was against the Cardinals, it cannot afford to overlook Watson and allow him to get outside of the pocket.

4. Protect Jayden Daniels from Myles Garrett.

The Commanders' offensive line, widely thought to be a weakness for the offense in training camp, has been one of the biggest surprises to start the season. Tyler Biadasz is the 12th ranked center by PFF; guards Nick Allegretti and Sam Cosmi have some of the best pass-blocking grades for their position; and the tackle duo of Brandon Coleman and Andrew Wylie are physical run-blockers.

The group hasn't faced a challenge like Myles Garrett, though, and the Pro Bowler will be a measuring stick of how good they have become over the last month.

Garrett is playing like the best pass-rusher in football with a win rate of 36% -- the best among all edge rushers and defensive tackles. He's fifth in the league with four sacks, and he's one of the few defensive linemen with the speed to keep up with skill players to blow up plays in the backfield. In short, Garrett is an obvious problem.

Much of the responsibility will fall on Coleman, a rookie who has shown progress since returning to action from injury, and Cornelius Lucas. Both will likely have to face Garrett one-on-one at times, but Kingsbury has also done a good job of protecting his offensive linemen and putting them in advantageous situations. It's likely that Kingsbury will provide help to Coleman and Lucas with tight ends John Bates and Ben Sinnott, both of whom have strong skill sets as blockers.

No matter how the Commanders do it, it is imperative that they keep Garrett away from Daniels as he tries to dissect the Browns' cover schemes.

5. Keep the crowd in the game.

Northwest Stadium is expected to host a packed crowd on Sunday, perhaps in a way that has rarely been seen in recent years. The energy around the team has been further hyped by the growing national attention surrounding the Commanders, and many pundits have them as a top 10 team.

After spending three of their first four games on the road, the team is pumped to be playing in front of a home crowd, and they want to give the fans a good show.

"We are absolutely lit to be coming home and hopefully create a home field advantage," said coach Dan Quinn. "It's as fun as you could possibly imagine when a stadium's going crazy for the team. And so, we're certainly wanting to capture that."

The Commanders are familiar with what even a smaller contingent of the Burgundy & Gold faithful can do. Several fans made the trip to Arizona for their win over the Cardinals, and Whitt said Thursday that the atmosphere "felt like a home game at some point."

There will obviously be more fans at Northwest Stadium, all of which will be eager to see their team extend their lead in the NFC East. It will be important for the Commanders to keep those fans loud and engaged. The best way to do that is by playing the brand of football they've established over the past month.

"It's a huge advantage for the team because as loud as it can get and silent cadences and all that goes with that, it's just an absolute blast," Quinn said. "The energy goes through the roof. So, that's what we'll dig for and keep battling for it and the better that we can play, the more we can create that together."