Commanders' nightmare scenario unfolding just as fans feared at midseason

It was all supposed to be so simple for the Washington Commanders this season. Their sensational surge to the NFC Championship game, followed by a bold offseason approach from general manager Adam Peters, had this once-downtrodden franchise poised to make another Super Bowl tilt in 2025.

But the Commanders are finding out that things rarely go smoothly in the NFL.

This is a year-to-year league for a reason. Teams can regress or improve in the blink of an eye. Bad luck on the injury front could bring ambitions crashing down. Any number of factors can be the difference between success and failure.

Commanders were ahead of schedule last season, but they're crashing back down to earth

The Commnanders rode their good fortune to create a tidal wave of positivity last time around. Peters rewarded those who made lasting contributions with new deals. One notable splash was made in free agency. Two bold trades took center stage, leaving Washington with five draft selections. Essentially, they were running it back with a few tweaks.

It was a risky strategy. Most of these players were at the tail-end of their careers. They played well in 2024, but there was no telling how much more they had left in them.

And the nightmare scenario is unfolding just as fans feared.

Washington's age is catching up with them. After having almost no injury concerns last time out, they have been decimated during the current campaign. The vibes seemed off in the summer, and this is bearing fruit through the first eight weeks of the campaign.

Everything is slow and relatively pedestrian. The Commanders' flaws are being exposed almost constantly by the opposition. They are 3-5 and going nowhere fast. Even now, making the playoffs seems like a long shot in the highly competitive NFC.

Things are not looking good. And unless there is an epic turnaround, a seismic shift in approach is needed when the 2026 offseason arrives.

It's a gut punch for fans who were expecting more. Peters didn't have much of a choice but to rely on experience after so many years of bad drafting under previous head coach Ron Rivera, leaving him with the NFL's oldest roster. At the same time, it's starting to look like Washington in its current form has been figured out.

The Commanders were way ahead of schedule last season. But maybe this is where things are supposed to be right now.

Superstar quarterback Jayden Daniels masked a lot of their issues in 2024. He's not done the same in 2025, and he's also dealt with injury problems. Aside from a select few, everyone is buckling under the pressure, and it's going to take a monumental effort to turn the tide.

Questions are being asked about this franchise's direction. They can ill-afford last year's heroics to become an anomaly, but that's what it appears right now.