It feels surreal, but the Washington Commanders are only a year removed from a Week 16 victory against the Philadelphia Eagles that moved them to 10-5 and solidified their status as the darlings of the NFL. Things are a lot different 12 months on.
Washington stumbled through an ugly loss to those same Eagles, dropping to 4-11. The only real fight came after the whistle, sparked by a late, unnecessary two-point conversion from Nick Sirianni that led to ejections and a sideline brawl.
For fans in D.C., the holiday cheer has officially run dry. And reckoning with the past, while recognizing present failures and future needs, cannot be overstated.
The Ghost of Commanders Past: "It Was All a Dream"
Last year, general manager Adam Peters and head coach Dan Quinn could do no wrong. It truly felt like a dream.
And for a while, it was all good. Jayden Daniels wasn't only a revelation, finally showing what a franchise quarterback can do in Washington, but he also helped cover up a lot of cracks in the roster.
The "Hail Maryland" helped turn the season around, and the "Cardiac Commanders" ignited a fanbase starved for success. The Ghost of Commanders Past reminded us that, despite the grim decades of the Dan Snyder era, winning football could be played in D.C. under exemplary leadership.
The Ghost of Commanders Present: The Cost of "Humbug"
However, just as Ebenezer Scrooge chose money over his soul, the Commanders’ front office seems to have let early success go to their heads.
Rather than getting younger, Washington doubled down on an aging roster. While the rest of the league’s contenders stayed lean and athletic, the Commanders went from the seventh-oldest to the oldest team in the league, with an average age of 28.1.
The bill for that "humbug" approach has come due in the form of the injury bug. After being the fifth-healthiest team in 2024, Washington has collapsed under the weight of 169 games lost to injury through Week 15.
According to recent data, they’d lost about 160 points due to injury through Week 15, the third-most in the NFL.
The "Present" is bleak, which fans thought they'd left behind when Snyder left town, but it's been more of the same.
Daniels looked off this season and suffered multiple injuries before ultimately being shut down. Austin Ekeler was lost early in the year. Deatrich Wise Jr., Marshon Lattimore, Terry McLaurin, Trey Amos, Zach Ertz, Noah Brown, and Luke McCaffrey have all missed significant time. The list goes on and on, with the lack of roster depth becoming increasingly evident.
While Treylon Burks has shown flashes on offense, the cupboards are pretty bare behind him. Ben Sinnott has yet to emerge as the tight end of the future, and the defense has fallen from 13th in yards allowed to the second-worst unit in the league.
Quinn’s defensive play-calling provided a temporary spark, but the unit has reverted to a league-worst norm.
The Ghost of Commanders' Future: A New Year’s Resolution
So, what does the Spirit point to for the future?
The anticipation for 2026 is bright if Peters is willing to change and can provide more hits in the draft.
With an expected $81.9 million in cap space, a top-10 draft pick, and a (hopefully) fully recovered Daniels, the tools for redemption are there. But the warning is clear...
The veteran band-aid strategy is dead.
Peters must use this offseason to overhaul the roster with youth and durability. If he and Quinn fail to heed the warnings of this disastrous 2025 campaign, they may find their own names on the "hot seat" headstones by this time next year.
After the "Christmas Miracle" season of 2024, Washington fans have received nothing but coal in 2025. #
The sleigh is back in the hands of Peters. It’s up to him to ensure that 2026 brings the gifts of a rebuilt line and a healthy franchise signal-caller. The Carolina Panthers, Chicago Bears, and Jacksonville Jaguars have shown just how much a team can change its trajectory in one year; now it's up to Washington to do the same.