Commanders Spotlight Gets Bigger After Major Announcement

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Anthony Goss | Last updated May 21, 2025 3:52 PM ET

No one expected the run that the Washington Commanders' incredible run through the NFC Playoffs to the conference championship last season. The Commanders had a head coach in his first year with the team and a rookie quarterback under center.

Quinn showed no rust back in the head position and Jayden Daniels showed incredible poise for a young quarterback. Those two and the outstanding support from the coaching staff and the rest of the roster played spoiler and announced an early arrival.

Washington's run did not come off of dumb luck either. They took out two division winners on the way to the NFC Championship, including the conference's No. 1 seed.

Engineering such a remarkable turnaround, there will be more eyes on Daniels and the Commanders next season. Following a league announcement on That number has likely increased again.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell announced this year's plans for the filming of HBO's "Hard Knocks" Wednesday, including a focus on the NFC East for the in-season version of the show. That of course includes the Commanders, Philadelphia Eagles, New York Giants and Dallas Cowboys.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell announces some fun ones — The #Bills will participate in Hard Knocks during training camp…

And the NFC East will be the focus for in-season Hard Knocks. pic.twitter.com/iN9pslFKLz
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) May 21, 2025

The traditional training camp season will focus on the Buffalo Bills, per Goodell and will premier on Aug. 5.

Based on the results of last season, the NFC East is a clear choice here for a show that will be focused on telling the stories of multiple teams at the same time. The Eagles and Commanders met in the NFC Championship just months ago before the former went on to win the Super Bowl.

Those stories will be coupled with those of the New York Giants, another storied franchise looking to climb out of the league's basement, and the Dallas Cowboys whose soap opera seems to write itself.

With the extra lights and cameras around, there will be another layer to the Commanders battling through what should be a challenging season, especially for Daniels looking to avoid the dreaded sophomore slump.

But so far, the young quarterback and his team have only risen to the occasion. Fans will get a glimpse into those processes with this season along with several other notable storylines from Washington's strongest rivals.

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

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