Hughes’ View: Today We Find Out If the Commanders Are Actually Better

Here we are, gameday. It feels like forever since we've been able to say that, yet it's only been a few months. Something about this year makes it feel different. Maybe it's that Jayden Daniels' rookie contract window is starting to close, meaning a chance to load up on talent with a dynamic player making a portion of what he's worth is slowly running out. Maybe it's the thought that Dan Quinn is hitting year three in a league where that generally means he needs to show something this season. Or maybe it's because the positive energy inside that building is at an all-time high. Whatever it is, today we find out whether the Commanders are actually better than the team that walked off the field after winning a meaningless game against Philadelphia on January 4.

All signs point to "they certainly better be" if they want to beat the Eagles on September 13. The good news is this team has restructured everything it does and reinvented its processes with new coordinators on both sides of the ball. Now, of course, comes the first real chance for them to prove it on the field. Make no mistake, tons of questions will need to be answered today:

- Does Blough’s offense look more functional?
- Can Daniels play within structure without having to save everything?
- Does the new defense actually create pressure and confusion?
- Does the offensive line hold together?
- Does Washington look capable of standing toe-to-toe with the NFC East standard?

Obviously, starting the year with a win would be the best outcome, but the final score alone won’t tell us whether Washington is better or not. There's always a chance with NFC East games that they could show us a completely different, better team and still lose. What I'm really looking for is whether the things the Commanders spent eight months changing actually show up when the opponent is trying to stop them. This all begins in the trenches on both sides of the ball. If Washington can't win there, they will have issues in this one, especially on offense, where I need that unit to shut down the national media that believes they are one of the worst o-lines in football. Don't have Daniels out here looking like he's trying to be Superman every down.

And with those answers will come some sort of direction for the rest of the season. While they won't win the Super Bowl today, the road to it begins with the first click on the clock this afternoon. Meaning there's never a better day to see whether something works than today.

I believe the team is better, but these types of games never play out the way they are supposed to, and season openers in a hostile environment like Philadelphia can be tricky. Something tells me the defense will have a strong showing today and lead the way.

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