The Washington Commanders are 3-7 after their Week 10 loss to the Detroit Lions, their fifth setback in a row. And fans are unsurprisingly pointing fingers of blame.
This season started with the Commanders harboring legitimate Super Bowl aspirations, but it's not gone according to the script. Joe Whitt Jr., the popular whipping boy, was finally demoted from his duties as defensive coordinator. Head coach Dan Quinn has taken heat as well, and, on the field, nobody has been immune to harsh criticism.
Most of them deserve it. But one scapegoat narrative remains as silly as it was when it first emerged, back before the campaign even started.
Commanders fans seriously need to stop blaming Terry McLaurin
When a team underperforms expectations to the degree the Commanders have this year, it's everybody's fault. Fans are emotional and irrational. They will act out from behind their keyboards at the expense of anybody they can think of. The absolute most trivial matters are held responsible for the disappointment.
Such has been the case with the amount of abuse McLaurin has taken this season. It started over the summer, when the two-time Pro Bowler was involved in a dramatic contract standoff with general manager Adam Peters. It was an unfortunate distraction, but at the end of the day, the conflict was resolved in time for competitive action.
Then McLaurin got injured, twice. He's appeared in only four games in 2025 and hasn't been his best self for the most part, even when he has played. This has led to the notion that his lack of conditioning during the holdout caused the injuries, or, worse yet, that he has been a poor leader and teammate.
A false rumor spread that McLaurin wasn't present for the Commanders' games against the Seattle Seahawks and Lions, prompting quarterback Jayden Daniels' mother to step in on social media to defend him. That's the sign of where things stand.
FYI!! You know he's been at both games . When Jayden got hurt he was in the locker room and he was there at the Lions game.
— Mz Jackson (@LovelyMzJackson) November 11, 2025
The sudden turn by much of the fanbase against McLaurin, of all people, is straight-up weird.
It's not his fault he's hurt, which could've happened to him regardless of his holdout. Injuries are random and unpredictable. And the idea that McLaurin ruined the vibes over the summer is just loser talk.
If the Commanders were as good as they were thought to be, they'd have put it behind them like it was nothing. Washington wasn't ready to compete yet. It happens.
For the seven years he's been in Washington, McLaurin has been arguably the Commanders' most consistent on-field performer and leader. He's been nothing but supportive of his teammates, even while he was away from them over the offseason. He will be back, and when he is, he'll be sure to offer fans a necessary reminder of how valuable he is.
The Commanders have no shortage of issues right now. But let's leave McLaurin out of it.