"It's wild to think that only four months ago, the Commanders were a legitimate Super Bowl hopeful. Nothing could go wrong for them. They were doing the things that the well-run, winning organizations do. Hitting on draft picks like Jayden Daniels. Trading for established Pro Bowlers like Laremy Tunsil and Deebo Samuel Sr., paying their current stars like Terry McLaurin, even if it took all offseason and a dramatic holdout to get a deal done."
"After Washington's stunning NFC Championship run, no one had time to listen to any of the concerns about a potential regression. The schedule would be more challenging. The league would adjust to Daniels. There was no guarantee the Commanders would be as lucky in close games or in avoiding injuries. They were all valid reasons for skepticism, but if you said any of those things, you were just a hater."
Seventeen weeks of disappointment culminate with a final road game at Philadelphia that will end a nightmarish season regardless of result. Four months earlier the team appeared a legitimate Super Bowl contender after drafting Jayden Daniels, trading for Laremy Tunsil and Deebo Samuel Sr., and re-signing Terry McLaurin. A surprising NFC Championship run raised expectations. A more difficult schedule, opponents' adjustments, injuries and poor results in close games produced dramatic regression. Preseason projections of seven or eight wins will likely be wrong as the team appears on track for no more than five. Questions now surround coaching and front-office leadership.
Read at Riggo's Rag
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