Commanders’ Lineman Suspended for Throwing a Punch as Team’s Playoff Hopes Keep Fading

The season keeps trending south for the 3–7 Commanders, who are still playing without star quarterback Jayden Daniels.

Sam LaPorta (#87) of the Detroit Lions makes a catch against the Washington Commanders at Northwest Stadium in Summerfield, Md., on Nov. 9, 2025. Greg Fiume/Getty Images

Things continue to trend south for the Washington Commanders, a team that made the NFC Championship game last season.

Commanders defensive tackle Daron Payne’s one-game suspension without pay is just the latest of a season that hasn’t panned out amid a 3–7 start. Payne received the suspension from the NFL after his altercation with Detroit Lions star wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown on Sunday in a 44–22 loss for the Commanders.

St. Brown scored a touchdown late in the third quarter, and Payne, approaching him afterward, threw a punch at him. Commanders and Lions teammates, as well as referees, soon intervened before Payne was ejected.

Commanders defensive lineman Javon Kinlaw jumped to Payne’s support afterward. Kinlaw notably drew an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on the Lions’ two-point conversion after the Payne-St. Brown altercation.

“Daron only retaliated because the refs literally saw the first punch,” Kinlaw told reporters. “I don’t blame him for the way he reacted. Tempers got to flying. I mean, it is what it is — it’s a physical game; [expletive] happens. But, on my end, I just got to be smarter in some situations and protect the team.”

Payne emphasized that officials saw St. Brown’s part too. That said, the broadcast footage doesn’t show St. Brown throwing a punch.

St. Brown acknowledged the back-and-forth nature of his altercation with Payne, but St. Brown also said he didn’t punch Payne.

“I mean, I think two plays before that, we got into a little scuffle, back and forth, whatever, this, that, and the other,” St. Brown told reporters afterward. “And then we end up scoring, and I go up to him. I say a little something, nothing crazy, and then he decides to swing on me, so, I mean, it is what it is.”

Washington will play without Payne for Week 11 when the team travels to Madrid to play the Miami Dolphins (3–7). Payne, a former first-round draft pick and Pro Bowler, had a solid season going with 12 tackles and a sack.

Washington will now look to Kinlaw and fellow defensive lineman Phidarian Mathis to step up on the interior line. The Commanders defense was already struggling, allowing 28 points per game, 29th in the league.

Without Daniels, Offense Sputters

Washington truly has problems on both sides of the ball, and the loss of quarterback Jayden Daniels to an elbow injury doesn’t help.

Daniels went down with the injury during Week 9 against the Seattle Seahawks, but he could return before the end of the season, if it makes sense for the Commanders to play him at that point. Meanwhile, backup quarterback Marcus Mariota continues to guide an offense that has seen a mostly down year with 22.3 points per game. Mariota matched his season-best totals of 213 yards and two touchdowns on Sunday, but that wasn’t enough to keep pace with a high-octane Lions offense. Overall, Mariota has 852 yards passing for six touchdowns versus four interceptions in six game appearances this season.

When healthy, Daniels completed 62.5 percent of his passes for 1,184 yards and eight touchdowns versus two picks in six game appearances. Whether or not the Commanders will play him again this season could hinge on where the team is in the playoff chase, which is gradually slipping away for the Commanders.

Washington would need to win out at this point in order to have a 10-win season. All of the teams in playoff position for the NFC have at least six wins and three or fewer losses.