Super Bowl LXI Road Map: Where Commanders Finish in NFC East Is Anybody’s Guess

Despite an improved front seven defensively, Washington will go only as far as QB Jayden Daniels and a suspect pass-catching corps will take them.

Washington's success in 2026 will depend on the health of quarterback Jayden Daniels, who missed 10 games in 2025. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

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Welcome to Super Bowl LXI road maps, where we look at every team’s chances of winning it all in 2026. We’ll analyze the summer optimism before providing a reality check of what’s to come. Next path to assess: the Commanders.

After enjoying the euphoria of being one game away from the Super Bowl in 2024, Washington crash-landed last season, finishing 5–12 while reigning Offensive Rookie of the Year quarterback Jayden Daniels was limited to seven games with injuries.

Now, entering Daniels’s third season, the Commanders and coach Dan Quinn are at a crossroads. A good season and there’s nothing but optimism going forward as Daniels becomes extension-eligible. A bad year, and suddenly there’s consternation about whether Washington has the right people in place, including a quarterback who only 12 months ago looked like the league’s next superstar in the making.

For the Commanders, they’re hoping 2026 is more dream than nightmare after enduring a challenging season a year ago.

Leadership

Quinn is one of the more fascinating coaches in terms of legacy. In 2015, he took over the Falcons and coached them to a 43–42 record over six seasons, a run that included an appearance in Super Bowl LI, where Atlanta infamously blew a 28–3 lead to the Patriots. Still, the Falcons won the NFC South once and reached the playoffs twice under Quinn, more success than any other coach has enjoyed with that organization this side of Dan Reeves.

In Washington, Quinn is 17–17 and took the Commanders to their first NFC championship game since the 1991 season. That said, he’s trying to return Washington to perennial contender status, something it hasn’t been since Joe Gibbs roamed the sidelines in the 1980s and early ’90s. In fact, the Commanders haven’t made the playoffs twice in a three-season stretch since doing so in 2005 and ’07.

To reach those heights once more, new offensive coordinator David Blough will have to be great immediately. Blough, 30, last played as a reserve quarterback in 2023 with the Lions on their practice squad. After retiring, he worked two years in Washington as Daniels’s assistant quarterbacks coach before being promoted to replace Kliff Kingsbury this offseason. On the positive side, Blough knows Daniels and the offense. Conversely, will he bring enough new ideas to a team that was 22nd in both points scored and yardage last year?

Most influential roster move

General manager Adam Peters rebuilt the front seven through a slew of free-agent signings, and by selecting Ohio State linebacker Sonny Styles in the first round.

On the open market, Peters signed defensive ends Odafe Oweh, Charles Omenihu and K’Lavon Chaisson, a trio that combined for 18.5 sacks last year, including 7.5 each for Oweh and Chaisson. Washington also brought in veteran defensive tackle Tim Settle on a three-year deal, along with linebacker Leo Chenal, who won two Super Bowls with the Chiefs as an athletic, rangy talent, notching seven sacks and 17 tackles for loss over his rookie contract.

Styles is replacing veteran inside linebacker Bobby Wagner, who remains a free agent. Despite being 35 years old last season, Wagner was productive, with 162 tackles and 4.5 sacks. However, Styles is the present and future after being a second-team All-American, totaling 182 tackles with 17 tackles for loss over the past two seasons before recording a 4.46 40-yard dash at the combine.

While it’s several new pieces, the talent is suddenly in place for Washington to create problems for opponents in both the run and passing games. 

Former Buccaneers running back Rachaad White is joining forces with quarterback Jayden Daniels after signing a one-year free agent deal. | USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Connect

Why this offseason move will work

Bringing in Rachaad White to spell Jacory Croskey-Merritt is going to pay dividends. 

White spent four years with the Buccaneers, rushing for 2,656 yards during that time and, more importantly, catching 205 passes for 1,450 yards and 11 touchdowns. Last year, White amassed 40 receptions (on 45 targets) for 218 yards. Compare that to the main backs for Washington a year ago, Croskey-Merritt and Chris Rodriguez, who had 12 catches for 98 yards between them. 

Considering the dearth of proven pass catchers in Washington, having a veteran with good hands who can swing out of the backfield could prove invaluable. 

Breakout player candidate: Chig Okonkwo, TE

If Daniels stays healthy, Okonkwo might be the biggest beneficiary alongside star receiver Terry McLaurin. 

Okonkwo, 26, came over this offseason on a three-year, $27 million deal after spending his first four seasons with the Titans. In Tennessee, the 238-pound tight end had between 450 and 560 receiving yards each year while playing with Ryan Tannehill, Will Levis, Mason Rudolph and rookie Cam Ward as his main quarterbacks. 

Now with Daniels, Okonkwo could see plenty of passes thrown his way with McLaurin as the only other established target. The other receivers include rookie Antonio Williams and a slew of unproven veterans: Treylon Burks, Luke McCaffrey and Dyami Brown, none of whom have ever posted more than 450 receiving yards in a season.

Missing piece

Even with Okonkwo and White to eat up some targets and provide production in the passing game, there’s a clear lack of playmaking talent on the perimeter. 

McLaurin is an established wideout, but he’s also coming off a year in which he played 10 games and totaled 582 yards, the lowest figures of his career on both counts. McLaurin, who will turn 31 in September, could be entering the second phase of his time with the Commanders, one better suited to a second-option role. Unfortunately, there’s nobody who can reliably take the load off him. 

Provided Daniels is healthy this season, he’s going to have to produce with his right arm and legs while primarily targeting McLaurin, White and Okonkwo. For explosive plays, Daniels is the best bet on the team, as he created 48 as a rookie, including seven on the ground. Last season, Washington had 51 as an entire team (it had 64 in 2024).

Realistic outlook

The Commanders could finish in last place in the NFC East, but they could also win it. 

In one of the NFL’s more wide-open divisions, Washington is trying to emerge with the crown, but much depends on whether Daniels is more the first- or second-year version of himself. In his first season, Daniels played all 17 games, totaling 3,568 passing yards with 25 touchdowns, leading the Commanders to the playoffs, where they beat the Buccaneers before pulling off a stunning upset of the Lions. 

If Daniels is upright and the newfangled front seven can perform, Washington has a chance to compete with the Eagles and Cowboys for the division. In 2024, the Commanders split with Philadelphia and Dallas, en route to a 12–5 record. 

If Washington can do the same this season while taking a pair from the Giants, it’ll be in a solid position, considering it has a third-place schedule, while the Eagles and Cowboys play first- and second-place dockets, respectively.  

Still, there are big questions, none bigger than Daniels’s durability.

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