Commanders Aim To Keep Narrow Focus Amid High Expectations

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Adam Schultz | Last updated Jun 17, 2025 11:23 PM ET

The Washington Commanders will enter the 2025 season with expectations as high as they have been in recent memory.

After Jayden Daniels took this franchise to a 12-5 season and NFC Championship game, it is natural to think the team can continue its ascension. Plus, with new arrivals in Deebo Samuel and Laremy Tunsil, the Commanders have loaded up for a genuine Super Bowl tilt.

But if we know anything about Dan Quinn, it's that he doesn't let the outside noise infiltrate his locker room, and for Tunsil, he knows the franchise simply has to tune out what's being said about them.

“We can't worry about what the media is saying, what everybody's saying about us,” Tunsil said via JP Finlay. “We going to win these many games or we this type of team, we just got to put the work in and stay consistent, I think that's the biggest thing for us.”

Tunsil went through a similar situation with C.J. Stroud and the Houston Texans in 2023, when Stroud burst onto the scene, and we saw the regression last year, so the five-time Pro Bowler knows the pitfalls that could accompany his new team.

But the Commanders, with Quinn and Daniels keeping things on the straight and narrow, or as Dan likes to say, staying off the emotional rollercoaster, Washington will keep its focus on the controllables.

Yes, it's early in the offseason, and most believe the Commanders will be a playoff team at the very least in 2025, while others think a Lombardi Trophy is on the horizon.

But the franchise won't be drinking its own bath water. In fact, Tunsil will make sure they won't.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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