Optimism is high among the Washington Commanders fan base and within the building before the new season. A strong offseason got the sour taste of 2025 out of everyone's mouth, and there is a fierce intent in the locker room to right the wrong.
Even so, not everyone is entirely convinced by Washington's bounce-back capabilities.
General manager Adam Peters did not assemble a bad roster overnight. The Commanders obviously got complacent after reaching the NFC Championship game, and the injury problems didn't help their cause either. Everything was out of sync, things became stagnant, and they paid a heavy price.
Commanders get laughable 2026 prediction that goes against offseason hope
There are many unknowns heading into the 2026 campaign. New coordinators, a plethora of new signings, and raised stakes for the players who were part of last year's capitulation. The Commanders have talent, so if the offseason gambles pay off and they get a bit of luck along the way, head coach Dan Quinn's squad should be much more competitive.
Unfortunately, things could go the other way as well.
Nick Shook of NFL.com is among those who believe there are too many unknowns around the Commanders to take them seriously. He has Washington finishing 4-13 right now. That might be a lot higher, but the analyst said there were a lot of ifs that could go either way.
This would be disastrous in more ways than one.
A four-win campaign would likely mean Quinn is fired and Peters goes to the hot seat. Nobody will be safe from an uncertain future. It would be back to square one for the Commanders, but Shook's prediction is certainly on the lower end of the scale.
Something would have to go seriously wrong for the Commanders to end up with just four wins. There is too much around the squad and the coaching staff for that. If Quinn can navigate a daunting early gauntlet successfully before the bye week, they've got a chance to make some noise over the second half of 2026.
Four wins is very doom and gloom. Fans are currently on the glass-half-full side, and excitement will only build as training camp and the preseason approach. It would have been easy for the Commanders to feel sorry for themselves, but they've rolled up their sleeves, made the moves needed, and approached the offseason so far with real intent.
That counts for nothing if they cannot become more efficient, more situationally sound, more motivated, and more competitive during the regular season. But if they can, the Commanders are going to be a surprise that some around the league do not see coming this season.
And analysts like Shook are going to look extremely foolish along the way.
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