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Commanders Predicted To 'Regress' In Year 2 With Jayden Daniels

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Adam Schultz | Last updated Jun 23, 2025 9:28 AM ET

The Washington Commanders will enter the 2025 season with the burden of expectation after an NFC Championship appearance in Year 1 with Jayden Daniels.

Granted, that is a high bar to reach, but after a 12-5 season and two playoff wins, coupled with the offseason acquisitions of Deebo Samuel and Laremy Tunsil, more is expected of Dan Quinn's team in 2025.

Some believe the Commanders will make and win the Super Bowl, while others think the franchise might just regress a bit after the exploits of 2024.

And one such person is former Washington stud and Fox Sports analyst Mark Schlereth.

“Washington's interesting because I don't think anybody expected that level of success, and if we had truth serum for Dan Quinn, he'd tell you I didn't expect to go that far, not at that moment,” Schlereth said on the Rich Eisen Show. “What was it, nine one-score games that they won or something, at some point, you're going to regress a little. You might lose a couple of those, so you would think they'd have to come back a little bit, but that's a good team.”

This isn't the first time we've heard about Washington and regression. In truth, winning so many one-score games last season means the ball might bounce a little differently in 2025, or luck might not be on their side.

So, a regression from a 12-5 team might see the Commanders go 10-7, which would, in all likelihood, make them a playoff team.

But everyone in the league now knows Washington is coming; it can't attack from the darkness like it did last season, so that is another element to it.

Teams will be prepared for what the Commanders throw at them, but make no mistake about it, with the talent on this roster, Washington should be a playoff team in 2025, even with a regression.

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

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