The Washington Commanders will once again look to get right this weekend when they host the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday Night Football. And there is one storyline that will make or break their chances.
Washington enters the game having lost three in a row and will once again be without the services of star wide receiver Terry McLaurin. But on the bright side, quarterback Jayden Daniels will be suiting up after missing Week 8 due to a low-grade hamstring strain.
Injuries have plagued the Commanders' season, with the Daniels-McLaurin connection in particular never getting the chance to find a rhythm. They haven't played together since Week 2, and they were out of sync in those first two contests after the receiver held out of the entire offseason during his contract standoff with general manager Adam Peters.
Jayden Daniels has the chance to save the Commanders' season on prime time
Daniels has put together some solid showings this year, even without his top target. His performance on prime time at Northwest Stadium needs to be his best one yet.
Over the course of the Commanders' campaign, not only has the narrative taken a turn for the worse, but the legitimacy of last year's NFC Championship game run has also been called into question. The popular idea has become that Washington's roster was actually terrible, yet Daniels was so incredible that none of it mattered.
This is a significant insult to the production the Commanders got from many of their supporting players in 2024, and they aren't getting it in 2025. But regardless, if Daniels is good enough to carry the whole team on his back, then he can put on his Superman cape again and turn this campaign around.
These next two weeks will determine whether Washington has any hope left at all. They're facing a pair of formidable NFC opponents — the Seahawks and the Detroit Lions — but they do have the advantage of home-field. If the Commanders are 3-7 after this stretch, they're done. But a pair of wins would provide a massive confidence boost.
The narrative surrounding the former LSU star's sophomore slump remains massively overblown. Daniels left more to be desired in Week 7 against the Dallas Cowboys even before his injury, but in the two weeks before that, he was much better. When he's on the field, Washington always has a chance.
Daniels needs to give the Commanders more than just a chance versus the Seahawks, who boast an outstanding road record this season. In a game that should be a high-scoring shootout, he'll need to deliver another one of those clutch masterpieces like he did time and time again last year.
Washington's season depends on it.