"The Commanders entered the 2025 season with legitimate Super Bowl aspirations for perhaps the first time in more than three decades. They had Jayden Daniels coming off one of the greatest rookie campaigns in NFL history, and a roster figured to improve in several key areas from a group that made the NFC Championship game. Playoffs were the expectation, and lifting the Vince Lombardi Trophy was the limit. Instead, Washington's season has been doomed by age, injuries, and ( gulp) the crippling reality that last year's team was more lucky than good."
"Sustaining success in the NFL is hard, but you always have a chance The fact that Washington went from winning four games in 2023 to 12 (plus two more in the playoffs) in 2024 should be proof enough that every year is different. This is the double-edged sword of NFL football: it's the most demanding sport to contend in consistently, but it's also the easiest one in which to conduct a quick, successful rebuild."
"In the NBA, it can take close to a half-decade for a team to rise from the basement into relevance unless it acquires a game-changing superstar. In baseball, it usually takes years of development for young prospects to reach the MLB level, let alone start winning. Rebuilds are lengthy, arduous journeys that leave fans tuning out in droves, even when they ultimately work. This is not the case in the NFL."
The Washington Commanders began 2025 with Super Bowl aspirations, buoyed by Jayden Daniels' exceptional rookie year and a roster expected to build on an NFC Championship run. Early-season results have produced a 3-5 record as age, injuries, and regression undermined that optimism and exposed last season's fortunate outcomes. Year-to-year volatility in the NFL still allows for rapid recovery, unlike longer rebuilds in the NBA and MLB. Short player prime windows and immediate impact from drafted or signed veterans mean one strong draft or free agency class can quickly reshape a franchise's prospects.
Read at Riggo's Rag
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