How The Commanders Can Take The Next Step In 2025 Espn

Bonisiwe Shabane

-Nov 17, 2025, 6:52 AM

how the commanders can take the next step in 2025 espn

One year can change everything. The biggest storyline heading into the Washington Commanders’ 2025 season is the rapid ascension of Jayden Daniels. After flashing superstar potential as a rookie, the second-year quarterback now looks ready to shoulder the franchise’s long-term hopes. The Commanders entered ranked No. 11 in preseason power rankings from ESPN’s Mike Clay on Sunday. Daniels’ dual-threat ability gives defenses headaches.

He is dangerous enough to take the top off with his deep ball, yet efficient enough in short and intermediate throws to keep the chains moving. As he enters Year 2, expectations are no longer about promise — they’re about production. Washington firmly believes it has its franchise quarterback, and Daniels has given every indication that he can deliver. The Commanders didn’t stop at banking on their young star. The front office added proven veterans to insulate Daniels and accelerate the growth of the offense. Bringing in Laremy Tunsil at left tackle and Deebo Samuel in the passing game might go down as the most important moves of the offseason.

The Washington Commanders may not have expected to make it all the way to the NFC Championship, but that didn't take out the sting from their elimination. The Commanders want to make it further next season, and in order to do that, they have to be honest with themselves when rebuilding the team. ESPN writer John Keim lays out three big questions that the Commanders need to ask themselves this offseason. READ MORE: Saints job was Kliff Kingsbury's for the taking but he chose Commanders, Jayden Daniels instead "Daniels was named the NFL's offensive rookie of the year and finished seventh in the MVP voting in 2024. A franchise that couldn't solve this position for decades appears to have finally gotten it right.

Daniels threw for 3,568 yards and 25 touchdowns; he rushed for 891 yards and six more scores," Keim writes. McLEAN, Va. -- The Washington Commanders' 2025 schedule was released along with the rest of the NFL slate Wednesday. The Commanders play five prime-time games and finish the season with four consecutive NFC East contests, which will help decide their playoff fate. The nation will see a rematch of the Commanders' Hail Mary win over Chicago in 2024 -- a game that also pits the first two quarterbacks taken in the 2024 draft. The Commanders will play three games vs.

the other 2024 first-round passers, including Atlanta and Denver. Washington's revamped offensive line -- with left tackle Laremy Tunsil and first-round pick Josh Conerly Jr., likely at right tackle, will get tested immediately, facing a Giants' front that just added edge rusher Abdul... And one fun game to circle for new receiver Deebo Samuel Sr.: Week 9 vs. Seattle. He has 766 yards receiving vs. the Seahawks in his career -- 111 more than he's had against any other team.

Here's what's in store for the Commanders: Week 2: Sept. 11 at Green Bay Packers (TNF) Expectations for the Washington Commanders are higher than ever before on the heels of a surprise run to the NFC Championship game this past season, especially after blockbuster trades for Laremy Tunsil and Deebo... It has been a while since the Commanders were relevant on a national scale like this and had people talking about them in a positive way, and ESPN’s Adam Schefter was recently one of... 7News DC’s Natalie Spala sat down with Schefter recently on an episode of Toyota SportsTalk to discuss all things Commanders, and Schefter said the team is looking at a long and exciting path of...

“When you get a quarterback who’s that good and that young, you’re looking at 12+ years of prosperity ahead, and it’s almost like the football gods said, ‘this Washington franchise has been through the... The football gods have spoken. Washington’s savior has arrived. The Washington Commanders were one of the best teams in the NFL this past season, but that doesn't mean things are guaranteed to stay that way. ESPN analyst Aaron Schatz listed the Commanders as the team most likely to take a step back for the 2025 season. READ MORE: Super Bowl in D.C.?

Mayor says it’s possible with a new Commanders stadium "When a team pulls off a magical run to the conference championship despite not being one of the two or three best teams in the conference, you usually see a step back the following... And when quarterbacks are as good as Jayden Daniels was as a rookie, they usually don't take the step forward that fans expect because they're already very good and there's not much room to... The Commanders set a high bar in Daniels' first year that will make it far to reach again in 2025. However, they have the culture set in place and the quarterback geared up for the future, and that's always the hard part. Expectations are heightened for the Washington Commanders after a 12-win season and the franchise’s first trip to the NFC Championship game in three decades.

The team has had a strong offseason to make sure last year wasn’t a fluke by trading for Deebo Samuel and Laremy Tunsil, though one analyst still has a big concern about the team... Analyst Joe Fortenbaugh contributed to a recent ESPN article with his colleagues, where they went through each team’s total win outlook for 2025, and he is concerned that the team’s 2024 point differential and... “I am, however, highly concerned about the abundance of red flags signaling an upcoming regression for Washington. For starters, the Commanders finished 12-5 last year despite a +94 point differential, which is more indicative of a 10.6-win team. Second, Washington went 8-4 in one-score games. Those are two metrics which demonstrate how Dan Quinn’s team performed above expectation in 2024,” Fortenbaugh said.

The points Fortenbaugh mentioned are valid, but that regression could be counteracted by natural progression and the potential improvement on offense that Deebo Samuel and Laremy Tunsil could contribute to.

How The Commanders Can Take The Next Step In 2025 Espn

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