Commanders News: Dan Snyder, Terry McLaurin, Sam Howell and playoff hopes

Commanders playoff hopes 'possible'

It's not hard to see why the Washington Commanders are going relatively under the radar compared to others within the NFC East. This rapidly emerged into the league's most competitive division last season and might be again if the three other teams that made the playoffs take additional strides forward.

The pressure on Washington and head coach Ron Rivera is enormous. This would have been the case even if a new ownership group wasn't looking over proceedings intently, but having increased urgency could raise everyone's performance levels en route to what will hopefully be a profitable campaign.

This was a topic discussed by Gary Davenport of The Bleacher Report, who tipped the Commanders to defy expectations next season and potentially secure a playoff berth if everything goes well.

"The hype around the Washington Commanders has been a lot more muted this offseason. They were a .500 team in 2022, but they are breaking in a second-year quarterback in Sam Howell who attempted all of 19 passes in his one appearance last year. [Jahan] Dotson and Terry McLaurin are an excellent one-two punch at wide receiver. Brian Robinson Jr. and Antonio Gibson are a quality "thunder and lightning" duo in the backfield. If Chase Young can recapture the form that saw him win Defensive Rookie of the Year in in 2020, Washington could have the best defensive line in the league. That's right, better than the Eagles. The Commanders have a better, more balanced roster on paper than the Giants. With some decent QB play, a postseason berth is a real possibility."

- Gary Davenport, The Bleacher Report

If Rivera managed to secure a winning record and postseason spot, then Josh Harris and his wealthy benefactors would find it difficult to ring widespread changes. Time will tell as to whether or not this is attainable.