The Washington Commanders' season has spiraled into a horror show. They have suffered four consecutive losses — the latest three by at least 20 points — and star quarterback Jayden Daniels is sidelined for the third different time.
Injuries, on the whole, have derailed a campaign that started with such high hopes after last year's NFC Championship game run. In addition, age has caught up with a roster that wasn't built to be sustained.
The Commanders overachieved in 2024 as much as they've underachieved this year. And their regression has badly exposed one particular myth surrounding Daniels' rookie performance that's worth revisiting.
Jayden Daniels never had a great situation; he only made it look like one
When the Commanders drafted Daniels, everyone expected Year 1 to be bad. The team had won four games the prior season. The offensive line was historically awful, and the defense wasn't much better. Washington boasted one legitimate receiving weapon, Terry McLaurin, who was considered above average. Even with a new coaching staff and general manager, there was no immediate fix.
There became one because of Daniels. He was the fix.
The former LSU phenom put together one of the best rookie seasons by a quarterback in NFL history. Then, the narrative switched up, and talking heads pretended the Heisman Trophy winner only looked like the best first-year signal-caller because he was in the best situation. It was as silly then as it's proven to be now.
It's not like Caleb Williams didn't have weapons last year, with an offense consisting of D.J. Moore, Rome Odunze, and D'Andre Swift. Six weeks into the season, his Chicago Bears were considered a potential playoff team despite his growing pains, only for Washington to break them. Bo Nix had an elite defense on the Denver Broncos and a Super Bowl-winning head coach in Sean Payton.
With Drake Maye, there's a point to be made. He's vastly improved in Year 2 under new head coach Mike Vrabel and a better offense with the New England Patriots. He could end up being the one passer from the 2024 class who can challenge Daniels' upside in the long run.
Even then, it's hard to see him doing much if he were on the Commanders right now, where both sides of the ball have provided zero help for their quarterback.
The Commanders don't have any game-changing supporting players. That was true last year, too, with the exceptions of McLaurin and Frankie Luvu, who had outlier second-team All-Pro seasons. Dan Quinn is still a quality head coach, despite the knee-jerk reaction from fans toward him over Daniels' latest injury, but both coordinators could be replaced at season's end.
Washington has serious issues with Daniels, and they have always been there. He was just good enough to cover them up before.
Now, the crumbling walls of Washington's flawed foundation have collapsed upon him.