We have made it through more than one quarter of the NFL season, a season filled with chaos. Every team seems to have moments of good and bad.
The current state of the NFL is quite unpredictable, which adds to the excitement for us as fans. Now, as we move into October and November, teams will start to distinguish themselves from their competition.
The Washington Commanders have been chosen as Gates’ latest NFL Team of the Week.
Commanders’ Rookie Sensation
Back in August, if you had told me that the Commanders would have one of the most exciting offenses to watch and one of the brightest futures in the league, I would have probably thought you were crazy. Yet, we live in a world where the Washington Commanders have found their quarterback in Jayden Daniels.
In the recent Week 5 game against the Cleveland Browns, Daniels performed exceptionally well. He completed 14 of 25 passes (a 56 percent completion rate) for 238 yards and threw one touchdown to Dyami Brown, who finished with 57 yards. Additionally, Daniels was the leading rusher for the Commanders on Sunday.
Daniels’ favorite target has proven to be Terry McLaurin, who had four catches for 112 yards, the most yards of any receiver in this matchup. Daniels and Washington are on a four-game winning streak for the first time since 2008.
DMV STAND UP 🗣️
JAYDEN DANIELS HAS THE COMMANDERS OUT TO THEIR BEST START IN 16 YEARS 🔥 pic.twitter.com/kcQmNULMy0
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) October 6, 2024
The Hogs’ Defense
The Commanders’ defense completely shut down the Cleveland offense led by Deshaun Watson. The Browns’ top receiver, Amari Cooper, had four catches for 60 yards, and their top rusher, Jerome Ford, had nine carries for 47 yards. This defense held Watson to 125 yards and a touchdown, which was caught by tight end Jordan Akins.
Washington’s top defender was former Carolina Panther Frankie Luvu, who recorded four solo tackles and took down Watson for two-and-a-half sacks.
WHERE MY DOGS AT@budlight | #RaiseHail pic.twitter.com/U71AjdcK0F
— Washington Commanders (@Commanders) October 6, 2024
Commanders Fans Have Hope?
Attention, Commanders fans: you have hope once again. Washington football has not had this much hope since Kirk Cousins or Robert Griffin III quarterbacked the team.
Daniels’ jersey is already one of the top-selling jerseys in the league, the NFL media is finally talking about Washington in a positive light, and the Commanders are a joy to watch every Sunday.
Playoff Team?
In the NFC East, the Commanders are in contention for the division title. If Washington keeps playing strong offense and defense, they have a good chance of making it to the playoffs and potentially winning the NFC East for the first time since 2020. That year, they won the division with a 7-9 record led by Taylor Heinicke.
NFC East through Week 5:
1. Washington Commanders, 4-1
2. Dallas Cowboys, 3-2
3. Philadelphia Eagles, 2-2
4. New York Giants, 2-3— RJ Ochoa (@rjochoa) October 7, 2024
New Ownership, Better Results
This is the Commanders’ second season under the new ownership of Josh Harris. Just look at the difference between Harris and the former owner, Dan Snyder. It’s night and day.
Now that Washington seems to have a competent ownership group that cares for the team, the future is brighter than ever.
This is the first time the Washington Commanders have been named our Team of the Week, a series that is currently in its third season. If Washington keeps playing like this, they should make some more appearances — and could also make a deep run in the playoffs this season.
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