Commanders are already set up for a very difficult road in 2025 and the playoffs haven't even started yet
The Washington Commanders are 12-5 and in the playoffs, which is crazy to think about. Especially when the team's win total was set at 6.5 coming into the season.Jayden Daniels, Dan Quinn, and the rest of the team are easily one of the best stories of the year. They've completely revamped the franchise and have […]
The Washington Commanders are 12-5 and in the playoffs, which is crazy to think about. Especially when the team's win total was set at 6.5 coming into the season.
Jayden Daniels, Dan Quinn, and the rest of the team are easily one of the best stories of the year. They've completely revamped the franchise and have it on the right path toward sustained success. A near-complete haul of draft picks and nearly $100 million in cap space should really help the trajectory continue in 2025.
But, there's a couple of huge differences between the upcoming 2025 season and this past year. Not only will the Commanders be on everyone's radar as a team they need to be ready for, but Washington's 2025 opponents are on track to be one of the hardest, if not the hardest, schedule in the NFL.
Now that the regular season has concluded, the Commanders' 2025 opponents are officially here. Below is the list and each team's regular season record in 2024. The Commanders obviously play the first three opponents twice since they're in the NFC East:
- Dallas Cowboys: 7-10
- New York Giants: 3-14
- Philadelphia Eagles: 14-3
- Detroit Lions: 15-2
- Kansas City Chiefs: 15-2
- Minnesota Vikings: 14-3
- Green Bay Packers: 11-6
- Los Angeles Chargers: 11-6
- Denver Broncos: 10-7
- Seattle Seahawks: 10-7
- Atlanta Falcons: 8-9
- Miami Dolphins: 8-9
- Chicago Bears: 5-12
- Las Vegas Raiders: 4-13
Yea, that's one hell of a list of future opponents. The Commanders have to take on both the NFC North and AFC West in 2025, two of the NFL's best divisions. Each division sent three teams to the playoffs this year, and all six teams finished with at least 10 wins. Three of the six finished with 14 or more wins. Washington also faces seven playoff teams, including both No. 1 seeds in the AFC and NFC.
They also have to travel to Minnesota, Kansas City, and Green Bay, which are three of the hardest stadiums to win a road game in.
In terms of strength of schedule, the Commanders' 2025 opponents have a combined .594% win percentage, which would easily have made this the league's hardest 2024 opponent list. The Cleveland Browns had the toughest schedule coming into 2024 at .547%, which is obviously much lower than what the Commanders are facing in 2025.
As a matter of fact, I went all the way back to 2010 and the closest strength of schedule is that of the 2014 Las Vegas Raiders and 2015 Pittsburgh Steelers. Both teams faced a combined .578% winning percentage heading into their respective seasons and both marks still don't come close to what the Commanders face in 2025.
The Commanders' 2024 opponents ended up with a .422% winning percentage – the SOS was ranked 19th at .502% coming into the season. So, it's clear the Commanders, on the forefront, have a much harder task coming up.
Sure, strength of schedule can be a bit misleading when considering how much teams typically change over the offseason. Most of these teams are set in terms of the key areas of their roster, however, and most won't see a ton of change/turnover in the offseason. The lesser teams will, but they aren't the tough part of the Commanders' schedule. Of the winning teams, the Seahawks are the only ones who may make some big changes, roster-wise, during the offseason.
Talk about a measuring stick year. If Daniels and co. can pull off another 12-win season (or better) with this schedule, then you better believe Washington is going to be a big factor for years to come.
