At the start of the 2025 season, Commanders fans were hopeful. After getting to the NFC championship in the prior season, they were expecting good things from a young Commanders team. However, instead of meeting expectations as suspected, they failed to make the playoffs by a large margin and lost many key players and games that could have turned their season around.
First of all, 13 starters were injured, and multiple key players, notably Jayden Daniels and Terry McLaurin, were out for multiple weeks. Along with this, Austin Ekeler had a season-ending injury in only the second week of the season. Similarly, they lost Noah Brown and Dorrance Armstrong to injury for most of the season. The injuries to Daniels and McLaurin caused the most trouble due to the reliance on them last season, with Daniels creating a spark on every play and McLaurin being the leading receiver. The struggles on the offensive side ultimately led to the firing of the offensive coordinator, Kliff Kingsbury, who had found much success last season.
The commanders also lost key players to other teams, such as starting running back Brian Robinson Jr. to the 49ers, Benjamin St-Juste to the Chargers, Jeremy Chinn to the Raiders, and Olamide Zaccheaus to the Bears.
Another reason for the underperformance was the defense, letting in 26 points per game, making them one of the worst in the league, with the worst games coming against the Lions and Seahawks (44 and 38, respectively), and getting shut out by 31 points by the Vikings. Ultimately, the fall of the Commanders can be attributed mostly to a disappointing offseason, injuries, a reliance on star players, and a defense that left much to be desired.
Although the 2025 season left fans angry, many are excited for a healthier team next year with the return of Jayden Daniels and Terry McLaurin to full health, and hopeful that they can meet the expectations the fans set for them. As well, with a better draft pick this year, new talent and energy will be added to the team, creating a great environment before the 2026 season kicks off.
