How can you blame Terry McLaurin and the Washington Commanders for being jealous of what a good football program looks like?
On NFL Sunday Week 17, the Commanders absorbed yet another pounding, this 27-10 result at the hands of the San Francisco 49ers. The 49ers are in the conversation for being the best team in the NFL.
And McLaurin's Commanders? Washington is 4-12. It has Week 18 reason to care - even though a "season-ruining'' opportunity awaits as the Dallas Cowboys are coming to down - about NFL Draft order. The Commanders QB situation is unsettled. The Commanders coach situation is unsettled.
“Hopefully,'' McLaurin said wistfully about the 49ers, "I can be a part of something like that, but I'm just focused on myself, my world and my journey and I'm going to keep working to be the best player I can be.''
McLaurin's hope is obviously shared by most everyone who plays the game. The stats are great and the salary is great, but ...
“You want to be a part of something that sustainable and you're winning completely at a high level,'' he said. "They've got a great staff. They've got great players. You can tell they love playing together. You see why they have the success that they do.''
Some of those things are chicken-or-egg. The "love of the game'' is made easier when a team is the No. 1 seed in the NFC playoffs, as is the case with the Niners.
And trying to avoid just going through the motions is made easier - as much as the Commanders and any other losing team tries to avoid that - when a franchise is going nowhere.
The Commanders drafted McLaurin in 2019. He's developed into a star-level player. But in terms of being able to showcase that in the postseason, where it really counts?
Since his arrival here, Washington has made the playoffs just once. And the team has never finished with a winning record.
Jealous? You bet. Why not? Maybe "jealousy'' is something that the entire Washington franchise should embrace when it is dealing with the 49ers ... and yes, next week, with the Dallas Cowboys as well.
"You got to give them credit,'' McLaurin said of the Niners, "for building that team and for the players going out there and executing.''
And Washington deserves discredit for failing, during McLaurin's term here, to accomplish anything close to that.
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