The Washington Commanders are 1-3 after four games, and that record tells the story of a team that has already hit some sharp highs and some ugly lows. Head coach Dan Quinn’s group has been through enough early turbulence to leave general manager Adam Peters’ offseason choices under a microscope, even with the season still young.
There’s still a path back. The Commanders are expected to get some key players back soon, including quarterback Jayden Daniels this weekend against the New York Giants, so the idea that this season is already lost doesn’t hold up. But the first four games have produced clear winners and losers, and some of those calls are starting to settle in fast.
Odafe Oweh has been one of the bright spots. The Commanders paid him like a player they believe can be more than a pass-rush specialist, and through four games he’s giving them plenty to like.
He has 16 pressures, but the more encouraging part has been his work against the run. That improvement has helped Washington emerge as one of the league’s best run defenses to open the season.
It’s not a finished product yet. Oweh can still lose contain, and the pressure needs to turn into more sacks. Even so, the early returns point to a player who can become a real centerpiece in Washington if this keeps going.
Mike Sainristil, meanwhile, has gone the other way. There was real optimism that the 2024 second-round pick would find his footing again in his third season, especially with Daronte Jones’ scheme and coaching in place. Instead, the start has been rough from the jump.
Sainristil struggled in the first two games, and after Jones and Dan Quinn publicly challenged him, the response never really came. His playing time dropped against the Seattle Seahawks, and the last outing in London was even worse. His future looks increasingly bleak.
In Other News...
Commanders Still Have An Opening In A Division Nobody Controls
A rough start has left the Commanders with plenty of work to do, but the bigger picture around the NFC East still gives Washington a path forward. At 1-3 after a Week 4 loss, the margin for error is thin, and the questions around Dan Quinns future are starting to surface too. Even so, this is a division that has not offered anyone much room to separate, with the Cowboys and Eagles both dealing with their own problems and looking far less secure than expected.
That creates an opening the Commanders can still chase if they start stacking wins and the rest of the division keeps stumbling. Washington does not need the NFC East to look pretty, just competitive enough to stay in reach while the standings remain unsettled. The next stretch matters because a couple of good results could quickly change the tone around a season that already feels much more fragile than it did a few weeks ago. [Read more 🡒]
Commanders Already Saw This Coming With Von Miller
Von Millers move across the division has not gone the way Dallas hoped, and it has only made Washington look more prescient about passing on a reunion. The veteran edge rusher has been quiet through five games with the Cowboys, and the issues have extended beyond the pass rush, with his run defense coming under scrutiny as well. Former Washington safety Donte Whitner even went so far as to question whether Miller is nearing the end of the line.
For the Commanders, the bigger point is that this was a decision they already made with an eye on the future. Washington chose not to bring Miller back and instead leaned into a younger approach, a path that has fit the defense better under its current coordinator. With the unit showing signs of improvement, the organizations choice to move on from an aging pass rusher looks a lot less cautious now and a lot more practical. [Read more 🡒]
Commanders Season Turning Point Puts Brandon Coleman In A Brutal Spotlight
Sundays meeting with the Giants arrives at a tense point for Washington, with the NFC East still unsettled and the Commanders trying to steady themselves through a run of injuries. The encouraging part is that Jayden Daniels is expected back without limitations, which gives the offense a chance to look more like itself as the stakes rise in Week 5.
Brandon Coleman, though, is one of the players who will be watched closest. He has been asked to handle a major role up front at a time when the margin for error is shrinking, and this matchup is the kind that can expose every weak spot along the line. For Washington, it is less about style points than survival, and Colemans performance could end up shaping how secure the team feels heading into the rest of the division race. [Read more 🡒]