What happened to Austin Ekeler? Commanders RB gets gruesome news vs Bengals

In the space of a few seconds in the game between the Bengals and Commanders on Week 3 of the 2024 NFL season, Austin Ekeler showed why professional football is a fickle sport. To begin the second half, the running back had rolled back the years to accomplish a 62-yard kickoff return. That set Washington up nicely to get their fourth touchdown of the game, but the rusher was not on the field when they added the points.

That is because he was taken to the sideline to be evaluated for a potential concussion. But things took a turn for the worse as he was then taken into the locker room.

As the Bengals came onto the field to try to reduce the arrears, the Commanders noted that Austin Ekeler was questionable to return. He was eventually ruled out after evaluation and might be out for some time depending on how they follow the concussion protocol.

Austin Ekeler shines for Commanders vs Bengals

The Washington Commanders dominated on the road against the Cincinnati Bengals on offense. They scored a touchdown on all three of their drives in the first two quarters, excluding the quarterback kneel to draw the first half to a close.

A big reason why they succeeded was because of Austin Ekeler's nous. He rushed for 35 yards on three attempts, one of which was a touchdown. That set the standard for the rest of the game and he carried on in the second half too. As mentioned before, he returned for 62 yards right from the kickoff.

Cincinnati was poor as they failed to put pressure on rushing channels and that freed Washington's rushing offense to make yards at will. Other than Austin Ekeler, Brian Robinson Jr. scored another touchdown on the ground. Even Jayden Daniels got involved in the action as he took a quarterback run option to go into the endzone.

Their fourth touchdown, and the first of the second half, was a passing touchdown but it also came due to the Bengals committing to blocking the run. Offensive lineman Trent Scott sold the fake block to the defenders and wheeled it into the endzone. Jayden Daniels found him open for his first-ever touchdown in the NFL.

With Austin Ekeler out, it will now be up to Brian Robinson Jr. and Jeremy McNichols to execute the running game and assist rookie Jayden Daniels, who now has the most rushing first downs of any quarterback in the NFL after Week 3.