The calendar has flipped to 2026, but for one more week of regular-season action, the NFL campaign is still in action. For the Washington Commanders, their tilt versus the Philadelphia Eagles is the last time they'll be on the field until next August.
Dan Quinn's squad will finish with either four or five wins, depending on whether they can beat an Eagles team that's likely to rest most of its starters. Of course, the Commanders are also down to largely backups, due to the laundry list of injuries their roster has sustained.
One player who was injured for much of this year is two-time Pro Bowl wide receiver Terry McLaurin. The prolific pass-catcher is now back, and he offered a valuable perspective on precisely what went wrong for the Commanders in 2025.
It's hard to disagree with Terry McLaurin's assessment of the Commanders' failures
Say what you will about the offseason distraction that many will tell you tanked McLaurin's — and by extension, Washington's — season this year, but he does not make excuses. The seventh-year pro has been around this franchise long enough to endure plenty of losing, and he hates it as much as the rest of us.
His words from practice this week summed up that sentiment, holding the team accountable for poor execution throughout the campaign.
"We know we're gonna fight. It's just fighting isn't enough. We've got to execute at a higher level."Terry McLaurin via Commanders.com
The Commanders have, for the most part this season, given it their all despite the results on the field.
Since Week 11, every game but for their no-show against the Minnesota Vikings has been competitive. They lost twice in overtime, beat the New York Giants, then led the Eagles until quarterback Marcus Mariota injured his hand. Last week, they came back from trailing 21-3 to lose by only a touchdown to the Dallas Cowboys with their third-string quarterback.
Still, it's not enough.
Losses are losses, whether they're by one or by 50. For Washington, the close games they've dropped can be partially chalked up to bad luck, but the Commanders also haven't executed as well as they did a season ago. They've regressed in third- and fourth-down situations. Penalties and turnovers have been constant issues in a year to forget.
It's a testament to Quinn's locker room that the Commanders have never quit this season. But there are no points for effort in the NFL.
Washington just hasn't been good enough to get the job done, and everybody deserves a share of the blame.