The Commanders’ spiral could soon prompt a change. No, not at QB.

But Sunday’s game at FedEx Field could have high stakes — for Washington, at least.

The Commanders are 1-3 and sit near the bottom, if not at the bottom, in most measures of efficiency. Their average yards per play (4.6) is the worst in the NFL, as is their minus-34 scoring margin. They have allowed a league-high 17 sacks, punted on 45.1 percent of their drives and have had 106 plays for zero or negative yards.

The inconsistency has been consistent — and this season’s spiral has prompted fans to call for drastic change, again.

Coach Ron Rivera has hinted one could be coming. Although the knee-jerk reaction would be to look at the quarterback or the play-callers, the more probable change might come elsewhere on the roster should Washington continue to spiral. Throughout the start to this season, Rivera has talked about the team’s young players, insinuating they need more experience and development. But in the secondary, youth prevails. Safety Darrick Forrest and cornerback Benjamin St-Juste, both second-year defensive backs, have so far impressed on the back end, enough to warrant consideration of a personnel change.

“These young guys are starting to get to where you hope they would get in their second season, and what’s happening is you see their confidence building, which means us as coaches, our confidence is building in them,” Rivera said.

‘I understand how important it is to win’

Washington has had a losing record every year under Rivera. But in the past two seasons, he’s found ways to stop the bleeding, be it with a personnel change, a motivational gimmick or a shift in the game plan.

In 2020, Rivera benched quarterback Dwayne Haskins after four games and, following a season-ending injury to Kyle Allen, turned the offense over to Alex Smith, the 16-year veteran who had overcome a life-threatening injury. Smith guided Washington to a four-game winning streak late in the season, then played through another leg injury to help it clinch the NFC East.

In 2021, after losing starter Ryan Fitzpatrick only 16 snaps into the opener, Washington sputtered to a 2-6 start. But following the bye, the team turned to its run game and embarked on another four-game winning streak.

Now, after three dismal losses — including two to divisional rivals — Rivera must find another way to salvage this season and future ones in Washington.

“This organization’s got five championships. … I get it,” Rivera said earlier this week. “I understand how important it is to win, okay? But I got to be realistic with what we have and what we’re going to do. Now, some of it we can improve on as coaches and get better at, and we have to. There is a sense of urgency that these things have to happen, but they’re not going to happen until everything’s in place.”

From 2021: Scott Turner grew up with Washington football. He’s hoping to push its offense to the next level.

Changing play-callers probably isn’t the answer. Not now, anyway. Washington just extended the contract of offensive coordinator Scott Turner, its only offensive coach with recent play-calling experience. And Jack Del Rio is the only defensive assistant with play-calling experience. Stripping him of those duties would put more on Rivera’s plate.

Changing quarterbacks isn’t it, either, although it may eventually be necessary if Carson Wentz continues to struggle. The Commanders traded two picks to get him and took on his full $22 million salary. Ending the experiment now would not only be costly, but it would send a clear message that Rivera, who lauded Wentz as a player the team “wanted” and saw as a potential long-term fit, has already given up on him. And Washington already knows what it has in backup Taylor Heinicke: a good backup with physical limitations.

So then focus shifts to the rest of the roster.

‘You have to consider everything’

Although many of the Commanders’ deficiencies lie with the offense, the team’s defense has had problems of its own, especially the explosive plays it has allowed. Through Week 4, Washington has given up 15 plays of 25 yards or more, second-most in the league. Eight went for at least 40 yards.

Rivera has cited blown coverages, poor technique, missed tackles, penalties and a general lack of execution as reasons. He’s said players have at times failed to get in position to make plays — and sometimes just failed to finish.

Penalties also have contributed to the Commanders’ downfall. Against the Cowboys, cornerback William Jackson III was flagged for defensive holding, which negated an interception, and also was called twice for pass interference for a combined 65 yards. Fellow corner Kendall Fuller was penalized twice against Jacksonville, for PI and holding. According to Pro Football Focus, Fuller has allowed the second-most receiving yards (328) among cornerbacks when targeted in coverage and has a passer rating against of 137.5 this season.

The Commanders had many firsts in Week 1. Darrick Forrest’s may have been best.

In contrast, Forrest, the safety who was a fifth-round pick in 2021, started Week 1 and had a breakout game. He had two pass deflections in the end zone, forced a fumble with a hard hit on a receiver and sealed the win over Jacksonville with an interception in the fourth quarter. And St-Juste, the second-year corner, filled in for Jackson in Week 3 and was a bright spot in a loss Washington would otherwise like to forget. Moving from the slot to outside, he had three pass deflections.

“I feel like I’m starting to be more vocal, and it’s helping everybody,” Forrest said of his play this year. “I feel like sometimes we lack energy, and when you bring that energy and everybody’s communicating, I feel like we play way better.”

Forrest played minimal snaps on defense as a rookie but has evolved into a versatile weapon on the back end. More time for him could mean Washington’s secondary uses more three-safety sets, which it did often last year and has repurposed this season with Bobby McCain, Kam Curl and often Forrest. Forrest also has been a boon in nickel packages because of his physicality, and he has been a part of another package with seven defensive backs.

“The nice thing for [Forrest] … is how he’s assimilated to really a couple of different roles for us,” Rivera said. “Not just playing safety but playing the Buffalo position for us. … There’s a lot of positive growth that you’re seeing from a young man like that. So, you get excited about it.”

St-Juste, whose rookie season was cut short because of concussions, has shown his comfort in the slot and outside at corner. Though it hasn’t been flawless, his rate of improvement has earned notice.

“I’m way more comfortable with the play-calling, and now I can really start to anticipate plays,” he said. “Once you’re in that beginning process of learning the scheme and playbook and that stuff, especially at a new position, you kind of just play by the rules. But once you get a glimpse and a good hold of how the playbook works and how to manage the position you can start anticipating stuff and jumping routes.”

“There’s going to be a point where you’re not going to be able to hold them back just because they’ll take a next step,” Rivera said of his young defensive backs.

For Commanders’ defense to progress, rush and coverage must work together

Of course, any consideration of a personnel change would have to factor in more than simply on-field performance. The near term has to be weighed with the long term.

“You’ve got to be sure, because it is a long season, and if you make a knee-jerk reaction to something and it doesn’t pan out, now you’ve got to correct it and fix it,” Rivera said. “So a lot of the decisions, I go through and … [consider] the ramifications of how it’s going to impact the player, the players, the team and the organization. You have to consider everything.”

Including money.

Jackson has the second-highest cap charge on the team, at roughly $13.8 million. That’s a lot of money to put on the bench, and it would make it difficult to turn back to him if things go awry. He has another year left on his deal, and moving on from him in 2023 would leave a $9 million dead money charge from his prorated bonus while saving $6.8 million overall.

Fuller’s cap charge is slightly less this season, at about $11.6 million. He too has another non-guaranteed season left on his deal, but the dead money charge is significantly lower. If Washington were to move on next year, it could save $8.5 million in cap space.

But the Commanders, stuck in a cycle of repeated mistakes, desperately need a jolt. Another week of a similar showing will warrant change.

“We’ll see,” Riviera said. “I mean, we got time. As each game progresses, we will evaluate and we will go from there.”