The Washington Commanders are gearing up to return from their bye week, and a monumental effort is needed to salvage some semblance of respectability from the campaign.
Head coach Dan Quinn acknowledged that everyone was deflated and needed a break. Hopefully, it has the desired effect down the stretch, and getting some influential players back from injury would also help greatly.
There is no chance of the Commanders making the playoffs. They are 3-8 and way behind the contenders in every conceivable way. This is all about assessing the roster from here on, and how the players respond in the face of significant adversity will go a long way to determining their futures beyond the campaign.
Adam Peters has a lot of hard work ahead this offseason. The Commanders need to regenerate their roster urgently, and this starts with getting younger. Aside from a select few franchise cornerstones, everyone has something to prove. And make no mistake; those in power will be watching extremely closely.
With this in mind, here are seven Commanders players whose futures in Washington hinge on their performances at the business end of the campaign.
Commanders players whose Washington futures ride on the final six games
Jake Moody - Commanders PK
The Washington Commanders made one notable change after their dismal Week 11 loss to the Miami Dolphins in Madrid, Spain. The defeat represented one bad game too many for Matt Gay, and the veteran kicker was released just a few months after signing a lucrative deal in free agency.
Adam Peters had a contingency plan in mind, signing Jake Moody off the Chicago Bears practice squad. The front-office leader knows the player well from their time together on the San Francisco 49ers. He also hit a game-winning field goal to beat the Commanders earlier this season, which didn't go unnoticed.
This represents a six-game audition for Moody to prove he can man the position long-term. Washington has struggled to find a solution to this ongoing frailty since the new regime took charge, so this is the latest desperate attempt to solve what's become a frustrating riddle.
Moody has experience. His 76.1 field goal percentage, also hitting 98 percent of his extra points throughout his career, is a decent enough return. The Commanders want to see if he can improve their fortunes. If he cannot meet the required targets, Peters will be on the hunt for yet another kicker when the 2026 offseason arrives.
And it could go either way.