What NFL writers and analysts predict for the Commanders this season

"Commanders Coach Dan Quinn told reporters this week that he's been asked often in the seven months since Washington's season-ending loss to the Eagles in the NFC championship game how he expects to replicate last year's success. "I don't want to replicate last year," Quinn said. "I want to build off of it." That won't be easy, though it's possible - probable, even - that the Commanders are a better team than they were in 2024 but finish with a worse record. Most pundits aren't predicting another deep playoff run for the burgundy and gold."

"After simulating the Commanders' season 1,000 times with point spreads available as of Wednesday, The Washington Post's Neil Greenberg projects the team is most likely to finish 10-7. If that happens, it would mark the first time since 1990 and 1991 that Washington posted double-digit wins in consecutive seasons. Washington enters Sunday's opener against the Giants seventh in Mark Maske's power rankings."

"Before Thursday's Eagles-Cowboys game, ESPN's Football Power Index metric gave Washington a 28.7 percent chance to win the NFC East and a 54.3 percent chance to make the playoffs, with 9.1 projected wins.Seth Walder boldly predicts the Commanders, with an aging defense and a weak pash rush, will finish below .5oo. Bill Barnwell predicts Washington will miss the playoffs. (The veterans in the Commanders' locker room apparently aren't concerned about the external noise, including preseason expectations and predictions, affecting second-year quarterback Jayden Daniels. "They're not really worried about me coming in and talking about what was said on ESPN," Daniels said this week. "I don't really care.")"

Dan Quinn said he does not want to replicate last season and wants to build off of it. The Commanders could be a better team than in 2024 while still finishing with a worse record. Many national pundits project a less successful season and no deep playoff run. A 1,000-simulation projection most likely finishes the team 10-7, which would be the first consecutive double-digit win seasons since 1990-91. ESPN's FPI gives a 28.7 percent chance to win the NFC East and a 54.3 percent chance to make the playoffs. Analysts remain split on Washington's outlook.

Read at The Washington Post