Commanders' best and worst-case scenarios in 2026

[ASFN Admin]

The Washington Commanders are desperately trying to get back on track in 2026. After making it to the NFC Championship in 2024, the Commanders won just five games in 2025. The team lost several players for multiple games and a few for the season in 2025, which greatly impacted their ability to succeed. Right now, everyone is healthy and ready for the start of training camp next month.

The Commanders made some serious changes during the offseason, firing and hiring new offensive and defensive coordinators, bringing in new faces on defense, and adding a few new faces on offense. With all these changes, there are understandably some questions about how this team will look in 2026. A recent CBS Sports article outlines the best- and worst-case scenarios for the Commanders.

Best-case: Following an injury-riddled sophomore season, Jayden Daniels stays healthy in 2026, and that helps Washington look more like the team that reached the NFC Championship Game during his rookie season. The Commanders get MVP-level play from Daniels, while the defense rebounds thanks to its offseason additions. First-round rookie linebacker Sonny Styles immediately bursts into stardom, winning Defensive Rookie of the Year. Meanwhile, Odafe Oweh and K'Lavon Chaisson provide Washington with some much-needed pass-rushing help. The Commanders win the NFC East for the first time since 2020 and are again playing for a chance to advance to the Super Bowl.

You can't argue with that. If all of those things happen, the Commanders will be a formidable opponent this season, especially if Sonny Styles shows out like everyone thinks he will. Best-case scenarios aren't often achieved easily, though, and even if this pans out, it won't be all rainbows and unicorns. So, let's take a look at the other side of the coin.

Worst-case: Even if Daniels stays healthy, there isn't enough firepower in Washington's offense to make a dent in the NFC East race. Terry McLaurin looks like an aging player, and no one else truly steps up in the receiver room. As for the defense, the new cast of characters produces similar results to the unit that struggled in 2025. Washington misses the playoffs for the fifth time in six seasons.

The worst-case scenario is pretty much what everyone thinks: A repeat of last season. It's an unlikely scenario given the changes the team has made, but it's still a possibility.

The reality is that the Commanders' season will likely be somewhere in between these two scenarios. Improvement is expected, but making the playoffs is more likely to be a wild-card spot than a division title. If they even make the playoffs in a tough NFC conference.

This article originally appeared on Commanders Wire: Washington Commanders: Best and worst-case scenarios in 2026

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