The Commanders got a clear-eyed assessment from Jayden Daniels after Wednesday’s joint practice with the Ravens. He called it a “Back-and-forth battle” and didn’t sugarcoat the overall result.
“Not the best day that I thought we could’ve had, all around - myself and everybody else. But it’s an opportunity that we can learn from.”
In Dallas, Brian Schottenheimer is pushing for more from Terence Steele, even while the coaching staff continues to lean heavily on him. The Cowboys head coach said the right tackle has to sharpen up his play, and offensive coordinator Klayton Adams pointed out that Steele has been on the field for nearly every snap as he enters his seventh season.
“ T-Steele’s got to play a little bit more consistently,” Schottenheimer said, via ESPN. “He has had a couple of days where he’s been a little bit dropping his pads and getting edged a little bit. He needs to be better.”
Adams said he and Steele spoke about it Wednesday morning and emphasized that the veteran lineman isn’t the type to back away from work.
“He and I had a good conversation about that this morning about how we continue to try to find consistency,” Adams mentioned of Steele’s workload. “He’s a guy that’s going into Year 7, and he’s never going to ask for a day off.
He’s never going to ask for a break. So we’re just searching for ways to help him and help him play at his best and most consistently.”
Over with the Giants, owner Chris Mara made it plain that John Harbaugh’s arrival has changed the temperature around the franchise. Mara said the team has moved from hoping for better days to expecting them.
“ The way I look at it is we’ve used the word hope in the last 10, 12 years whatever it might be. And I think the hope now has turned into expectations,” Mara said, via NY Daily News.
“ At least for me it has. I don’t hope we win this year.
I expect it. And I think everybody else does, too.
”
He also said Harbaugh’s résumé was exactly what the organization needed after the last decade or so.
“ Based on what we had done the previous I guess 10 or so years, we all thought it was really important to find that next head coach that had instant credibility, that had won a Super Bowl, that commands the respect throughout the league, ” Mara said. “ And fortunately for us, Baltimore fired him, and we hired him. ”
Mara praised Harbaugh’s edge and the way he handles players, saying the coach’s demanding style is balanced by a fresh start once the work is done.
“ He’s a very competitive guy, ” Mara said. “ And the thing I like about him the most - and the thing we’ve found out of about him - he can be the toughest guy you’ll ever talk to, and he’s very demanding.
But once those demands are over and they’re met, everything starts from scratch. He’s very smart, he knows people, he knows how to treat people,” Mara continued.
“And I just feel there’s this competitive aura about him that makes the players fall in line, if you will. They respect his background.
They respect his winning culture.”
Mara also said the Giants are already encouraged by first-round linebacker Arvell Reese, pointing to what he showed against Miami.
“ Arvell, he’s impressed me tremendously, ” Mara said. “ His size and athletic ability is something we really haven’t had in a while.
He’s so diverse in what he can do on the field, whether it’s playing inside or rushing the passer or covering a back out of the backfield. He showed all of this on the field [Thursday] against Miami.
I thought he was tremendous. ”
In Other News...
Dan Quinn Already Has A Commanders Problem Fans Wont Ignore
The preseason can be a noisy place to draw conclusions, but the Commanders lopsided loss to the Ravens offered plenty of reasons for concern anyway. Washington had issues on both sides of the ball, with the offense failing to find much rhythm and the defense giving up far too much ground, all of it feeding a familiar worry around this roster: there may not be enough depth to withstand the kind of injuries that can quickly change a season.
Dan Quinn already entered the summer with pressure hanging over him after a disappointing first year, and a rough August outing is not the kind of signal that calms anyone down. Preseason results do not decide job security, but they do shape the conversation, and this one only sharpened questions about how ready Washington really is for September. [Read more 🡒]
Commanders Cutdown Battle Suddenly Centers On One Troubling Linebacker
Kain Medranos first real chance to make his case in the Commanders preseason came at a tricky time, with roster decisions looming and the linebacker room already crowded. The second-year linebacker did not help himself against the Ravens, and that outing has put his standing in real jeopardy as Washington sorts through a competition that is as much about depth as it is about upside.
For Medrano, the path forward is likely tied to the less glamorous parts of the job. Special teams could be the deciding factor in whether he sticks on the 53-man roster, and if he does not, the Commanders may still view him as a candidate to remain in the building on the practice squad. For a young linebacker trying to carve out a role, that leaves the next few days feeling especially important. [Read more 🡒]
Commanders Fans Just Got A New Reason To Start Planning Sundays
Nike has added another piece to the Commanders growing game-day ecosystem with a new Washington-themed Vomero 18 running shoe now available through Fanatics. It is the kind of release that fits neatly into the rhythm of football season, giving fans something to wear away from the stadium while still keeping their colors close at hand. For a fan base already looking ahead, it also lands alongside a fresh look at the teams 2026 schedule, a reminder that Sundays can start feeling planned long before the season arrives.
The schedule gives Washington supporters a full roadmap for the year ahead, with dates and opponents laid out for every game, and tickets for the 2026 season are already on the market. Between the new shoe and the early ticket window, the timing is built for fans who like to get organized early and make the fall feel official. The only thing left is for the long wait to actually turn into kickoff weekends. [Read more 🡒]