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When and Where: Week 16 in Maryland, then at home in Week 18
Last season: Best season since 1991. Gave up 55 points in the NFC Championship Game.
Added: Laremy Tunsil, Will Harris, Deebo Samuel, Javon Kinlaw, Jonathan Jones, Dietrich Wise
Lost: Jeremy Chinn, Benjamin St-Juste, Dante Fowler, Olamide Zaccheaus, Dyami Brown, Cornelius Lucas
Players added or lost in order of snaps played last season.
Top draft picks: Josh Conerly, Trey Amos
Biggest question facing this team: Was 2024 a mirage?
The 2024 Washington Commanders had a great season, winning more games and going further in the playoffs than any season since winning the Super Bowl in 1991. But the 2024 Commanders were not a great team.
Washington was 10th in DVOA and point differential. That’s good, but not great. They went 2-4 against teams with a winning record in the regular season, with the two wins being against the early season Bengals and against a mostly Kenny Pickett lead Eagles, and they won those games by a total of eight points.
Behind Terry McLaurin they were lacking in skill position talent, Jayden Daniels was 3rd on the team in yards from scrimmage, entirely as their leading rusher. The defense stunk.
Credit the front office for realizing that despite their success, the roster needs help. But will the players they got actually help? Deebo Samuel is more of a concept than a reality, averaging 12.7 yards per touch in his first three seasons and 9.7 in his last three. Laremy Tunsil should be an upgrade from Brandon Coleman, but if a team that fired its offensive coordinator and offensive line coach and is willing to trade you their left tackle, that should be a big red flag. He’s already a walking yellow flag, Tunsil was the NFL’s most penalized player in 2024, in 2023 was the 5th most but only played 14 games, prorated he would have been the 2nd most, and in 2022 was the 5th most; he has committed 27 false starts in his last 52 games. The Javon Kinlaw signing was widely panned as the worst of the offseason. Though it occured midway last season, the trade for Marshon Lattimore isn’t looking good. He missed more games than he played for the Commanders, and got bullied by AJ Brown.
Dan Quinn and his group of try hard veterans were a success last year. The franchise feels that they have changed the culture. But have they? Acquiring past their prime name players and overpaying in free agency are classic Dan Snyder era WASTEAM moves.
