November 5, 2026
November 5, 2026
Washington Commanders’ 2025 Season Recap
The Washington Commanders’ 2025 season arrived carrying the heaviest expectations the franchise had shouldered in a generation. One year earlier, Jayden Daniels had dragged the team formerly known as the Redskins to a 12-5 record and the NFC Championship Game. The front office responded by doubling down on that window with bold trades and veteran signings. What followed was a punishing reversal. Injuries gutted the quarterback room, the defense collapsed, and a promising 3-2 start dissolved into an eight-game losing streak. Washington finished 5-12, third in the NFC East, and the fallout reached all the way into the coaching staff.
Washington treated its surprise conference title run as a mandate to go all in. General manager Adam Peters swung a blockbuster trade with Houston for left tackle Laremy Tunsil, sending a package of picks that included a 2026 second-rounder. He then pried Deebo Samuel away from San Francisco for only a fifth-round selection. Both moves aimed squarely at protecting Daniels and giving him another dangerous weapon.
The defensive additions leaned heavily on experience. Von Miller, Deatrich Wise Jr., Javon Kinlaw, and cornerback Jonathan Jones all arrived in free agency. Kicker Matt Gay signed to stabilize the special teams. The draft added Oregon tackle Josh Conerly Jr. in the first round, Ole Miss cornerback Trey Amos in the second, and two mid-to-late picks who would outplay their draft slots. Fourth-round receiver Jaylin Lane and seventh-round running back Jacory Croskey-Merritt both carved out roles almost immediately.
The only real summer drama centered on Terry McLaurin. The franchise’s top receiver stayed away from practice through much of training camp while seeking a new deal. Washington finally settled it in late August with a three-year, $96 million extension that kept him in burgundy and gold.
The opening month seemed to justify the optimism. Washington smothered the Giants 21-6 in the opener, the same afternoon Santana Moss entered the team’s Ring of Fame. Daniels then hurt his left knee in a Thursday night loss at Green Bay, and Austin Ekeler tore his Achilles in that same game. Marcus Mariota stepped in and steadied the ship. Against Las Vegas, Washington piled up 201 rushing yards in a 41-24 rout. Lane delivered the signature moment with a 90-yard punt return touchdown that tied the longest in franchise history.
After a narrow loss at Atlanta, Daniels returned and led a 27-10 dismantling of the Chargers. It was Washington’s first road win against that franchise since 1986. Daniels also became the first quarterback in NFL history to rush for 1,000 yards across his first 20 career games. At 3-2, the defending NFC runner-up looked very much like a contender again.
The season turned on a single wet football under the Monday night lights. Washington led Chicago 24-22 with just over three minutes left when Daniels lost his grip on the ball. The Bears recovered, drove into range, and Jake Moody’s last-second kick sealed a 25-24 Chicago win. Nobody inside the stadium could have known that loss would launch an eight-game skid.
The injuries kept piling up from there. Daniels battled a hamstring problem after a 44-22 defeat in Dallas and sat out the trip to Kansas City. He returned against Seattle and dislocated his left elbow, costing him three more games. Mariota absorbed most of the starts in his absence. The offense that had hummed in 2024 slid to 22nd in both points and yards. Daniels appeared in only seven games all season.
The receiving corps offered little relief. McLaurin missed long stretches of the season with injuries, and Samuel sat out the trip to Dallas with a heel problem. The ground game carried what it could. Croskey-Merritt emerged as a dependable early-down option, and Washington ranked eighth in rushing yards by season’s end. The passing attack, by contrast, sank to 24th. That was a stark fall for an offense built around the arm and legs of its franchise quarterback.
The losses arrived in a historic and humiliating cluster. Washington lost to Dallas, Kansas City, Seattle, and Detroit by 21 points or more apiece. No NFL team had dropped four straight games by such margins since the 2002 Arizona Cardinals. The Detroit loss even drew a sitting president to a regular-season game for the first time since 1978, an unwanted spotlight on a team in freefall.
Just as Washington steadied itself, the close losses began to sting worse than the blowouts. In Madrid, the franchise played in the first NFL regular-season game ever staged in Spain. It fell 16-13 to Miami in overtime after Gay missed two of four field goals, including a potential game-winner. Washington released him days later.
The cruelest finish came after the bye against Denver. Down 27-20 in overtime, Mariota drove the length of the field and found McLaurin on fourth-and-goal from the 3. Dan Quinn kept the offense on the field and went for two and the win. Linebacker Nik Bonitto batted away the pass, and the Broncos escaped with a 27-26 victory. Would a kick have changed anything? It hardly mattered, since that bold call summed up a team that kept arriving one play short.
Nothing defined the Washington Commanders’ 2025 season more than a defense that simply stopped holding the line. The unit that had carried Washington through key stretches of 2024 unraveled completely, and no midseason adjustment could stitch it back together. It finished last in the league in yards allowed and 27th in points allowed. Washington surrendered 451 points across 17 games. Quinn grew frustrated enough to seize defensive play-calling duties from coordinator Joe Whitt Jr. after ten games.
The veteran-heavy additions never produced the stability the front office had paid for. Miller remained a threat off the edge, but too many drives stretched the length of the field. Washington allowed 30 or more points six times. Those numbers buried every comeback attempt before it could begin, and they exposed how thin the margin had always been behind a young quarterback.
The bottom arrived in Minnesota. Washington was shut out 31-0, its first scoreless game since 2019. Daniels reinjured his elbow, tight end Zach Ertz tore his ACL, and the loss mathematically eliminated the team from playoff contention. The organization shut Daniels down for the remainder of the year shortly afterward.
Pride still had something to say about how the year would end. Washington snapped its losing streak with a 29-21 win at the Giants. A Week 16 loss to Philadelphia turned ugly when a brawl led to the ejections of Kinlaw and safety Quan Martin. Mariota also left with an injury, leaving veteran Josh Johnson to finish the game. A Christmas Day loss to Dallas followed.
The finale offered one last flash of resolve. Johnson made his second straight start and clawed out a 24-17 victory in Philadelphia, his first win as an NFL starter since 2018. Von Miller finished the year with nine sacks, his most since 2021. Bobby Wagner reached 2,000 career tackles in the same game. Punter Tress Way earned the franchise’s lone Pro Bowl nod. The final win also secured the seventh overall pick in the 2026 draft.
The reckoning came quickly. Offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury and Washington agreed to part ways, and Whitt was dismissed. Quinn kept his job but entered 2026 needing an entirely new coordinator staff. The Washington Commanders’ 2025 season will be remembered as the year a rising franchise learned how fragile a contending window can be. With a healthy Daniels, a top-ten pick, and a rebuilt staff, the pressure now falls on proving that 2024 was the foundation and the Washington Commanders’ 2025 season was only the detour.
7th February, 2017
17th June, 2026
5th March, 2016
29th March, 2016
17th April, 2016
November 5th, 2026 2
November 4th, 2026 2
November 4th, 2026 2
