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Nov 14, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Washington Commanders helmet sits on the sidelines against the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images Eric Hartline-Imagn Images

The Commanders' plan has one major flaw

Originally posted on Washington Commanders on SI
By David Harrison | Last updated Jul 18, 2025 2:00 PM ET

The Washington Commanders finished 2024 one win from the Super Bowl, so it would make sense that people are mentioning them when discussing who might make it to the big game this season.

Just how good are their chances? According to Sports Illustrated's Connor Orr, the Commanders are one of 12 teams he could see contending for this year's Lombardi Trophy.

In fact, in his assessment of the chances Washington is playing in the final game of the year, he admits he's warmed to some moves he wasn't too high on initially.

"I have changed my tune on the Commanders this offseason, which I hope is all right with you (I’m sure it’s not for the handful of media homers who are pretending they’re now covering the infallible Patriots of the early 2000s, but I digress). While I was not initially thrilled with the idea of adding Deebo Samuel and Laremy Tunsil to the build process, my skepticism has taken a backseat to my confidence in an offensive coaching staff that is garnering heavy buzz around the league right now," Orr says. "If what we saw from Jayden Daniels during his rookie season was merely the tip of the iceberg, I think the Commanders have the potential to be a Ravens-like outlier in how they produce yards. With that in mind, even if the defense takes a marginal step forward (which you would imagine it would, given the crop of young second- and third-round picks in the mix for jobs this year, in addition to some key veterans) we could see a run highlighted by more consistency during the regular season."

Further diving into the Commanders pool, Orr also predicts that either their offense or the Baltimore Ravens' will have the No. 1 total offense in the league this coming season.

To do that, however, Washington first needs to get receiver Terry McLaurin into training camp. And it would at least appear by recent comments that the star doesn't intend on making his presence on the practice field until the extension he's seeking is set in place.

Beyond that, the Commanders did a lot of work to address their needs following the 2024 season.

Tunsil and Samuel add much needed protection for quarterback Jayden Daniels and a bona fide No. 2 receiver behind McLaurin.

On defense, in need of an improved rush-stopping unit, the team signed free agents like Javon Kinlaw, Deatrich Wise Jr., and Jacob Martin. Losing sack leader Dante Fowler Jr. to the Dallas Cowboys as a free agent, however, the Commanders needed to bring in some other pass rushing juice to go along with linebacker Frankie Luvu, and are signing veteran Von Miller to do just that.

If the intent bears fruit then Washington is going to be hard to beat, even harder than it was in 2024, winning 12 regular season games and two road playoff contests before eventually falling to the eventual Super Bowl Champions in the NFC Championship Game.