Why the Commanders should still want to win

No, no, no. Have we learned absolutely nothing from 20-plus years of Dan Snyder polluting this franchise with a losing culture? What the Giants and Titans did on Monday night, showing that they won't give up in a season that's all but lost, was admirable. And the Commanders should want to do the same.

Montez Sweat's recent comments should speak volumes about what an embarrassing look this is for the Commanders. He straight-up said that players in D.C. have mentally checked out and are just waiting for the season to be over. No self-respecting fan should ever want their team to be associated with such a statement.

The Giants, a division rival, have won three-straight games after starting 2-8. They're not complaining about how their winning streak is costing them a higher draft pick. They're trying to convince themselves they can make the playoffs. Hard-nosed HC Brian Daboll and gritty underdog QB Tommy DeVito have them bought in and giving their all for each other, building a culture that's worth so much more than a shiny draft pick.

If that story sounds familiar to Washington fans, it's because this was the Commanders with Taylor Heinicke in 2022. Players rallied around him and the team fought back from a slow start to be in playoff position for much of the year, before ultimately finishing 8-8-1. Then after the news of Snyder's departure over the summer, the vibes in D.C. were as positive as ever.

Yet it's taken only three months for Washington to suck itself back into this toxic mindset of "Actually, losing is what we want." Why the same players who played their hearts out last year are so checked out this year is anyone's guess, but the bottom line is that it's not something that should be celebrated.

Draft picks are nice. They're also not the magic golden tickets that fans act like they are, and picking just one or two spots later because your team still fought hard in a lost season is not some horrible fate. Odds are, the player the Commanders would draft with the third pick will also be there with the fourth, and the fifth, and maybe the sixth. 

This isn't the NBA. Teams draft based on their biggest needs, not the best player available, and fans' infatuation with "tanking" for a better pick stems from a mentality that has been conditioned to have no hope for the tangible present, only for the unknown future... until that future becomes the present. It's a perpetual, endless cycle of doom and gloom, and it needs to die.

The best thing the Commanders can do, both for today and for tomorrow, is to end the season on a high note by winning a game or two. Crash Aaron Rodgers' potential return party on Christmas Eve. Stun the Cowboys in Week 18. Then draft someone who could become the best player at their position in the class -- the options will be there.

It's understandable to be intrigued by the next big thing. But until this losing mentality in Washington can change for good, fans are only setting themselves up to be let down.