The Commanders head into Week 1 carrying a lot more questions than certainty, and the power rankings reflect that. Washington opens its 2026 regular season on Sunday, September 13, at 4:25 p.m. EDT against the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field, and the matchup arrives after an offseason defined by new coordinators, roster turnover, injuries and plenty of skepticism.
A preseason that didn’t reveal much has only added to the uncertainty. The biggest issue, by far, is the offensive line after LT Laremy Tunsil tore his triceps last month. That injury has become the central theme in nearly every ranking, because so much of Washington’s outlook now hinges on whether Jayden Daniels can survive behind a unit that has serious questions.
USA TODAY’s Nate Davis slotted Washington at No. 25 and pointed straight at the uncertainty on both sides of the ball, citing first-time NFL coordinators, major defensive changes and the offensive line concerns. Yahoo!
Sports’ Frank Schwab had the Commanders at No. 22, noting that losing Tunsil for all or most of the season was the most damaging preseason injury and that it could ripple through the entire offense. He also added that this is not how Jayden Daniels wanted to start his third season.
The Ringer’s Diante Lee went even further, placing Washington at No. 28 after saying his optimism about the new-look offense disappeared when Tunsil went down. Lee wrote that Daniels’s best offensive lineman is now guard Sam Cosmi and tied the concern back to what Washington looked like last year when protection broke down. He also said new offensive coordinator David Blough will face immediate pressure, especially with the Eagles and Seahawks on the schedule in the first month.
FOX Sports’ Ralph Vacchiano ranked the Commanders 26th and included Super Bowl odds of +6000. His takeaway was blunt: Washington is leaning heavily on Daniels to recreate his rookie form, but the line may not be able to keep him upright. CBS Sports’ Pete Prisco also had Washington at No. 26, saying Daniels is back but the offensive line is a mess, and calling this a big year for coach Dan Quinn after changing both coordinators.
Sports Illustrated’s Pete Martuneac put the Commanders at No. 27, saying he wasn’t sold on Daniels’s rookie breakout and still saw Washington as a team that belongs in this range because the offensive line is a disaster and the defense isn’t much better than last season. The Athletic’s Chad Graff and Josh Kendall ranked them No. 23, listed their projected win total at 7.6 and highlighted how badly the line looked in a joint practice against the Ravens.
They also noted the August additions of D.J. Humphries and Stefon Diggs, but said the team will go as far as Daniels can carry it.
Walter Football placed Washington at No. 24 and said the defense appeared to improve with additions such as Sonny Styles, Odafe Oweh, Leo Chenal and Amik Robertson, though Styles has been brutal in camp and the preseason. That ranking also stressed Daniels’s health, saying the Commanders could make a playoff run if he stays on the field for most of 2026, even if that could be difficult with several offensive linemen injured, including Tunsil.
ESPN’s NFL Nation had Washington at No. 20 and framed Daniels as the player to watch for a franchise milestone: the single-season touchdown pass record. The report pointed out that no Washington quarterback has ever thrown more than 30 touchdowns in a season except Sonny Jurgensen, who had 31 in 1969.
Daniels threw 25 as a rookie, and with Terry McLaurin, Stefon Diggs and rookie Antonio Williams in the mix, the receiving group is stronger than it was a year ago. ESPN also said Daniels has looked sharp in David Blough’s new offense in practice, though everything still comes back to the same issue - if he stays healthy and the line can protect him without Tunsil, he has a chance to chase the record.
In Other News...
Commanders Offense Suddenly Has A Chance To Change Everything For Jayden Daniels
Washingtons offense has spent training camp trying to turn promise into something more tangible, and the addition of veteran wide receiver Stefon Diggs gives it a clear new layer. The Commanders already have Jayden Daniels, Terry McLaurin, rookie Antonio Williams and tight end Chig Okonkwo in the mix, so this is no longer just about one star carrying the load. It is about whether the passing game can finally look deep and varied enough to match the talent on the roster.
Diggs arrives as a meaningful piece for a group that wants to be better in 2026, and his presence changes the conversation around how far this offense can go with Daniels at the center of it. For a quarterback still shaping the next stage of his development, having another established weapon alongside McLaurin could make the whole operation more dangerous. The question now is how quickly all of those parts come together once the games start to count. [Read more 🡒]
Commanders Just Sent A Tough Early Message About Luke McCaffrey
Luke McCaffrey made the Commanders 53-man roster, but the early read on his role is pretty clear: Washington sees him more as a specialist than an immediate every-down receiver. He sits at the bottom of a crowded wideout depth chart, behind six others, even as the team keeps him penciled in as its starting kick returner.
That assignment matters because McCaffrey has already shown he can handle the job at a high level before injury slowed him down, and the Commanders clearly value that versatility. For now, though, the offensive path looks narrow unless the receiver room gets hit by injuries or someone in front of him fails to seize a bigger role. [Read more 🡒]
Commanders Just Got Pulled Into A Dan Quinn Coaching Debate
Dan Quinn enters the coming season with the usual pressure that comes with coaching in Washington, where every winning stretch gets noticed and every stumble gets replayed. His standing is tied not only to the Commanders results in 2026, but also to how Jayden Daniels continues to develop, which makes the next phase of the quarterback-coach pairing especially important for the franchises direction.
Mike Tomlins name has now been tossed into the conversation as a possible future option, even though any move would be complicated by his current Steelers deal and his no-trade clause. For Washington, it is more a reminder of how quickly the coaching market can shift than a sign of an imminent change, since several things would have to break a certain way before that kind of scenario even becomes realistic. [Read more 🡒]