Are the Commanders Legit Playoff Contenders?

At 8-5 the Washington Commanders find themselves on the verge of securing a spot in this year's NFL Playoffs after putting together a highly impressive first-year under head coach Dan Quinn.
The question, however, that faces the Commanders is the same one that faces all upstart teams no matter the year as many wonder if the team is for real or just a flash in the pan.
According to retired Super Bowl-winning Washington offensive lineman and current NFL analyst and broadcaster Mark Schlereth, the team is absolutely for real.
"They're a legitimate playoff team," Schlereth said on his Stinkin' Truth Podcast. "I think you look at Washington right now defensively, they surprise me. They've gotten a lot better since the beginning of the season. I did a bunch of games, several games early in the Washington season where Dan Quinn said basically, 'Hey, we're not where we need to be yet from a personnel standpoint, from a roster construction standpoint, but there's some things that are non-negotiables for me. One is we're going to play our asses off and we're going to play smart and we're going to eliminate some of the big explosive plays and all the things that have been hindering the Washington Commanders for the last decade.' And so they've really done that."
While the unit didn't have the best start to the season the Commanders' defense has become a much more reliable group that has kept the team competitive in each of the three games they lost before breaking that three-game slide against the Tennessee Titans in Week 13.
In that win, rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels looked back to form and recaptured momentum as the NFL's Offensive Rookie of the Year favorite that he had before suffering a rib injury that preceded the team's three-game losing streak.
"The guy has been tremendous. He's been so much fun to watch. He's been such a breath of fresh air," Schlereth said of Daniels. "He does so many things from the first guy in the facility to studying a couple hours a night on the virtual reality...the kid is an unbelievable worker and there was a stretch there for about three games where they weren't playing very well or he didn't play his best football, but he had that rib injury...and I think it was the loss (to) Dallas at the end of that game where he had to really unleash a few balls and all of a sudden he felt like, 'Oh my God, I can do this now.' ...I think from that point forward, he's no longer been on a pitch count, so to speak, or monitoring him. He's running the ball. He's throwing it deep again. Yeah, I think they're legit contenders."
Their contender status could get a big boost with a win against the New Orleans Saints this weekend in one of the team's final two road games of the regular season.
A win there won't lock in a postseason berth for Washington, but it would go a long way toward doing just that, and further prove Schlereth right in his assertion that this team is for real thanks to an improving defense and star rookie quarterback.
Stick with CommanderGameday and the Locked On Commanders podcast for more FREE coverage of the Washington Commanders throughout the 2024 season.
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