Rookie Glow, Preseason Woes:
The Commanders’ Rollercoaster Start
August 19, 2025
It’s no secret that historically, the Washington franchise has struggled to find success. In 2024, they bring on rookie Jayden Daniels and suddenly things are finally looking up, though they fall just short of making it to the Super Bowl. Now with some new weapons and a season under their quarterback’s belt, the Commanders might actually be able to go all the way for the first time since 1992. It all starts in the preseason…hopefully.
In the final game of week 2 preseason games, the Bengals and Commanders went head-to-head in a jaw clenching matchup. The Commanders kicked off the game with 4-plays going for 74-yards and a touchdown in under 2 minutes to tie up the game. To their surprise, the Bengals answered with a 9-play 58-yard drive to tie up the game at 7-7. The Commanders took the field and replied with another fast scoring touchdown, going for 44-yards in 3 plays in only 1 minute and 9 seconds. They scored two touchdowns in 2 drives in exactly 3 minutes. Impressive start. The Bengals got the ball back and continued to keep scoring, leaving their opponents fighting to get ahead. The Commanders then struggled tremendously to get the ball downfield; throwing multiple interceptions, resulting in turnovers.
By the 3rd quarter you could tell that the game was already over. I mean, come on, I understand that at this point they weren’t playing starters, but how are you going to lose to the Bengals after going all the way to the NFC championship game with a rookie QB. Daniels has serious potential and I would not sleep on him. He has brought the team back from the grave and gave the franchise hope. But he’s not the only weapon they have and success is barely out of reach.
Now, with the Terry McLaurin and Brian Robinson Jr. drama and potential trades, Commanders fans may be worried. McLaurin has had no luck as of today and Robinson is still up in the air. Their options are to either suck it up and accept the deals given, actually find success in a trade, or sit out. The latter is not a good idea for the guys or any trade deals, as teams will look at that and think that they’re unreliable after sitting out all 17 weeks…all over a trade request. With the contract issues and new season jitters, the Commanders haven’t been super successful this preseason. We assume they’ll iron out their flaws as the preseason wraps up and the real fun begins. Hopefully in that time, they can figure out what they’re doing on offense and tie a couple of loose ends to find themselves in another winning season.
With the regular season just around the corner, the Commanders will face the Ravens for their week 3 preseason game and this is their time to show what they’re really made of. Will they continue their losing streak, or will their skills slowly start to return?
Chris, Guest Author
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