The Commanders’ season feels different than last year, and the results against the Chiefs can heavily impact the team
The Commanders need a jolt to save the season, and beating the Chiefs will do that.
The NFC is stacked this year, and the Washington Commanders need to get back on track with a win against the Kansas City Chiefs to have a real shot at the playoffs this season.
A loss to the Chiefs doesn’t hurt the playoff hopes too much, but a win can give this team a jolt that has been missing all season, compared to last year. If the Commanders lose to the Chiefs, they have tough NFC matchups against the Seattle Seahawks and Detroit Lions right after that, which could put the nail in the coffin and change the goals for the season.
The team needs to have a much improved showing against the Chiefs, even as heavy underdogs, or the rest of the season can continue to spiral.
Commanders need to prove they are legit
Looking at the Commanders’ record so far, their three wins are against a bad New York Giants team, a Las Vegas Raiders team that will likely have a top-5 pick, and an impressive road win against the Los Angeles Chargers. The losses, however, have been the ones that hurt the most. There’s no reason the Commanders should’ve lost to both the Atlanta Falcons and Chicago Bears when you look at how they both have performed since. The Commanders need to add a staple win to their resume to be considered contenders again, and there’s no better win than on the road against Patrick Mahomes in primetime.
The Commanders have four NFC losses right now, and their playoff hopes seem like a distant thought. The Seahawks and Lions are both must-win games, and a win against the Chiefs can get momentum back for this team. Last year, this team was for real, and the vibes were high, but losses and injuries throughout the season to key players have really put a damper on the feelings about this team. This was an unbreakable locker room last year, and we just haven’t felt that this season yet.
The brotherhood is still there for the Commanders
This was a team of destiny last season, with all of the close games, and players giving their all for each other. This year, however, it consisted of players missing for a long period of time with Terry McLaurin’s contract dispute, injuries to multiple key starters, a lack of communication, and nobody stepping up on defense to help out. Things have just felt off since this offseason, but head coach Dan Quinn says that’s when the brotherhood leans on each other the most.
“I think when it’s going really well, that’s the time that you don’t lean in on it and you don’t find out a
lot,” Quinn said. “It’s the times that it gets the hardest that you lean in on it together. What I’ve seen from practice, I’m pleased knowing that these are the things I was calling on for the week. Would I be able to see that? Would we be able to deliver on that? During the week, there’s brutal honesty that goes with it, and I want to see them respond. If a team or a person doesn’t, then you have red flags to say, okay, you hit the big emergency brake, and nothing happened.
“You want to see players and people respond,” Quinn added. “That’s what I’m looking for from the team because over the last two weeks it certainly hasn’t been to the standard that we want. So, we address it, we say it, but I also want to see the response, and the first part that I could see was at practice.”
A loss doesn’t end the season for the Commanders, but a win certainly revives a team that feels lifeless right now. The return of McLaurin and Deebo Samuel should help, but it’ll still be a tall task for Mariota if the offense doesn’t get any help from the struggling defense. The Commanders could quickly go into sell mode if they lose the next two games before the trade deadline, and change their season goals.
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