The Washington Commanders are heading into Week 10 with a disappointing 3-6 record.
The team had high expectations entering this year, following a run to the NFC Championship Game the previous season. Unfortunately, injuries and inconsistency have seemingly doomed the season. Jayden Daniels, Terry McLaurin, Deebo Samuel, and Dorance Armstrong are just some of the players who have missed time due to injury.
Now that we’ve passed the trade deadline and reached the halfway point of the season, ESPN’s NFL writers have published midseason reports for each team. According to ESPN’s Football Power Index (FPI), the Commanders have just a 1.9% chance to make the playoffs and 1.4% chance to win the division.
This is extremely disappointing considering the team’s success last season. It’s not hard to understand why those numbers are so low, though, as we don’t even know when/if Daniels will be back. ESPN’s John Keim thinks the main storyline for the second half of the season is going to be about how the team recovers.
“Washington entered as a playoff contender, hoping to build on a 12-5 season,” Keim explained. “But the Commanders now need to finish strong or face a myriad of questions all offseason, about Daniels’ durability, the state of the defense, which has been a major disappointment, as well as a roster that needs more impact young players.”
As Keim mentioned, the Commanders need to finish the season strong to avoid a long and frustrating offseason. Much of the struggles can be blamed on injuries, but the defense has been extremely disappointing this season, even without injuries. The unit is 28th in yards allowed per game, 23rd in points allowed per game, and 29th in passing yards allowed per game so far.
It’s hard to see the unit getting much better in 2025. The team lost three of its top four edge-rushers for the season, and recently lost top corner Marshon Lattimore for the season as well.