Why the Commanders might be the biggest threat in the NFC East

The Washington Commanders are getting much more attention these days than they did just two years ago.

Fortunately, all the attention is for good reasons as well, as the Commanders have gone from the bottom of the league to being one of the surprising success stories in 2024, and an NFL darling in 2025.

So much so that Dallas Cowboys fans may have been a little annoyed when Washington entered a conversation that was supposed to be about their own favorite team.

Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels. | Peter Casey-Imagn Images

In a recent segment on Good Morning Football, former NFL executive Jon Robinson was asked about the Cowboys being the biggest threat to the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC East Division.

Rather than answer the question in search of an answer as to how Dallas would be the top contender, Robinson pivoted toward explaining why he feels it is actually the Commanders who pose the biggest threat.

"I think the team down in Washington probably had the best chance, okay. They traded for Tunsil. They draft Conerly in the first round, the added Deebo. There's a lot of things going the right way for Adam Peters and Dan Quinn," Robinson said. "And I think if anybody's got a chance to make a dent in what the Eagles are doing around the league right now, it's probably Washington more than Dallas. ...I just think that Dallas is probably another year away."

As Robinson mentioned, adding two offensive tackles in Laremy Tunsil and Josh Conerly Jr. have the Commanders poised to improve their offensive line play even with guard Sam Cosmi expected to miss part or all of 2025. An offseason trade to bring receiver Deebo Samuel over from the San Francisco 49ers figures to give quarterback Jayden Daniels another weapon to use consistently aside from Terry McLaurin, and given what he did with somewhat limited weaponry, the former GM is excited to see what he might do with more.

In fact, as Robinson continued his elevator speech on why it is Washington that should be discussed as the threat to the Eagles' throne, he naturally turned to Daniels and his amazing rookie season in 2024.

"It was freaky," Robinson said. "The things that he could do to make the off-platform throws, his ability to ID defenses to get the ball in the right spot, the touch that he shows on throws, and just [the] command for a rookie coming into a team. It was a really, really impressive season by Jayden there."

The endorsement of the Commanders took at least some members of the show by surprise as the next panel member begain their comments with the classic recovery line of, "Yeah, going back to Dallas," to get the segment back on track.

Whether it was in the script or not, Washington fans may not be used to hearing their team's name uttered when a national show is trying to shine the light on the Cowboys, but it was a welcome twist in the narrative for a change, and one Daniels and his teammates will try to keep going as long as they can.

Stick with CommanderGameday and the Locked On Commanders podcast for more FREE coverage of the Washington Commanders throughout the 2025 offseason.

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