The Washington Commanders are heading into Week 1 with a fresh set of faces, a new offensive setup, and a brutal first test.
They open the 2026/’27 NFL season on Sunday, September 8th at Lincoln Financial Field against the Philadelphia Eagles, last season’s NFC East champions. Washington comes in as a road underdog, and the challenge gets even sharper because this is the first regular season game for Jayden Daniels since he was shut down against the Minnesota Vikings in his return from a severe elbow dislocation.
Daniels barely got any preseason run - just three snaps - but he has been stacking reps throughout training camp and at joint practices with the Dolphins and Ravens. He’s also working through a new offense installed by David Blough, and the Eagles defense will be the first real measuring stick for how much of that summer work is ready to show up in games.
The defense is getting a reset too. Daronte Jones is taking over as the play-caller for the first time in the NFL, though he brings plenty of experience from both the college and pro ranks.
His most recent stop came working under Brian Flores, and the expectation is that he’ll bring that same aggressive style to Washington. General manager Adam Peters added a number of new starters on that side of the ball this offseason, and after last year’s struggles there’s no mystery about the assignment: Washington has to be better if it wants to get back to the playoffs.
Dan Quinn said the team’s first official Week 1 practice day looked clean across the board. On his weekly “Tell the Truth Mondays” update, Quinn said everyone took part in practice, including OLB Odafe Oweh, who is working through a calf injury. It was only a walkthrough, but Quinn said the group is trending in the right direction for Week 1.
He also pointed to the energy and the leadership he’s seeing inside the building. This year’s captain setup is different from what he’s done before, with five season-long captains chosen by the players: Jayden Daniels, Terry McLaurin, Frankie Luvu, Jeremy Reaves, and Tress Way. Quinn said he’ll still add one weekly captain each game, but those five are locked in as the core voices for the season.
As for Daniels, Quinn stressed that the quarterback’s preseason workload doesn’t tell the whole story. The bigger point, he said, is the volume of work Daniels has gotten in camp and in joint practices. Quinn also noted that training camp has been more intense than his first two in Washington, part of the effort to avoid a repeat of last year’s 5-12 finish.
Now the Commanders get to find out where all of that stands in real time. The opener in Philadelphia will say plenty.
In Other News...
Taylor Heinicke Just Earned A Career Honor Commanders Fans Will Appreciate
Taylor Heinickes football journey has come full circle in a way Washington fans can appreciate. The former Commanders quarterback officially retired in 2024 after an 11-season NFL career that included stops with several teams, but his roots in the sport still run through Old Dominion, where he became one of the programs defining players.
Old Dominion will retire Heinickes No. 14 jersey during halftime of its Oct. 15 game, and it will be the first jersey retirement in school football history. For a player who built his reputation as an underdog and carried that legacy into the NFL, the honor adds another notable line to a career that already meant plenty in Norfolk and in Washington. [Read more 🡒]
Jayden Daniels Is Stuck In An LSU Drama Commanders Fans Will Notice
Jayden Daniels has become part of an LSU off-field dispute that Commanders fans will recognize as more than a college-football sideshow. The former Tigers quarterback, now in Washington, is at the center of a disagreement with LSU over the handling of his old No. 5 jersey, after the school reassigned it to another player. It is the kind of college-era legacy issue that can linger long after a player moves on, especially for someone whose name still carries weight in Baton Rouge.
The story picked up more traction when Daniels' camp pushed back over LSU's use of his name, image and likeness, and former Tigers stars have not exactly lined up in unison behind him. Patrick Peterson and Tyrann Mathieu have both weighed in, adding another layer to a mess that is as much about program tradition and player respect as it is about one jersey number. For Washington, it is a reminder that Daniels' profile reaches well beyond the NFL, and the fallout from that LSU debate is still unfolding. [Read more 🡒]
Commanders Put David Blough In A Spotlight He Can't Escape
The Commanders coaching overhaul this offseason put David Blough in a much bigger role, with Washington promoting him to offensive coordinator after keeping Dan Quinn and bringing in Daronte Jones to run the defense. Blough is entering his third coaching year, all of it with the Commanders, and the move puts him squarely in the middle of how Washington wants to shape its offense going forward.
ESPNs Bill Barnwell recently put Blough on a list of NFL coordinators facing significant pressure in 2026, pointing to the shifting style of quarterback play across the league. For Washington, the stakes are obvious: Bloughs success matters not just for the offense, but for a staff that is trying to stabilize itself, and for Quinns job security as well. [Read more 🡒]