Last season turned out great for the Washington Commanders, and the recent signing of Terry McLaurin bodes well for 2025. After all, Jayden Daniels is back behind center. So if the Commanders can stay relatively healthy, here are four bold predictions for the 2025 NFL season.
Washington won 14 games overall last year, reaching the NFC Championship game. And while falling short of that level this year would be a letdown, the Commanders have enough pieces in place to believe they can make another strong run.
It starts at quarterback with Daniels and at head coach with Dan Quinn. If the Commanders made the right moves defensively, this team could soar. But how high? Let’s take a look.
Commanders will reach double-digit wins again
Also, the Commanders will win at least one playoff game. So if they manage to get the top seed, that means another NFC Championship game appearance.
It’s not going to be easy. The Commanders’ schedule has 11 games against teams that enter the season with a strong chance to finish over the .500 mark.
And four of those are division games with the Eagles and Cowboys twice each. Furthermore, seven of those 11 contests are on the road. Yes, the Commanders will have to play consistently good football to get to 10-plus wins.
So for this to happen, the Commanders must play well on the defensive side of the football. They can’t go into almost every fourth quarter needing multiple touchdowns to hold on or come from behind.
Defensive coordinator Joe Whitt Jr. has better personnel to work with this year. And he wants to make sure things work from the top of the defensive staff on down, according to wusa9.com.
“Allowing the coaches just to coach, getting out the way … and allowing them to go do it,” Whitt said.
Also, Whitt said he personally needs to be better.
“I don't think I did a good enough job in certain spaces with [LB] Frankie [Luvu] and [safety] Jeremy [Reaves],” Whitt said. “We did good jobs. But the whole 11, I have to do a better job of using people's skillsets.”
That kind of coaching-staff accountability is exactly what the Commanders need. And Whitt’s will be a big part of determining whether the team reaches the playoffs.
Jayden Daniels will cruise past last year’s TD total of 31
With a year of experience, it makes sense that Daniels will be better in 2025. But last year’s numbers were incredibly impressive for a rookie. NFL defenses are going to come after him with new plans and designs. At times, Daniels will have to learn on the fly again.
He finished 2024 with 25 touchdown passes and rushed for six more. The 25 TD passes ranked in a tie for No. 10 in the NFL. So it’s nothing to sneeze at. Yes, Joe Burrow (43), Baker Mayfield (41), and Lamar Jackson (41) were other-worldly with their TD passes.
However, look for Daniels to match his total of six touchdown runs. Therefore, he will only need to exceed his rookie total of TD passes by one. It wouldn’t be shocking to see Daniels get to 31 total TDs again. But this year has the look of 30-plus passing scores.
The main reasons are a better offensive line and better weapons. Daniels should have more opportunities this year to find receivers down the field. And that should lead to big TD numbers.
Bill Croskey-Merritt will top Brian Robinson Jr.’s career season high
Granted, Robinson didn’t set a high bar. In three seasons, the best Robinson could manage was 799 yards. He never played a full allotment of games and topped 200 carries only one time.
But none of that matters to Croskey-Merritt now. He figures to get a lot of work and should eventually become the Commanders' RB1. Because he’s more explosive than Robinson, he’s more likely to get chunk plays. Look for Croskey-Merritt to post at least two 100-yard games. And by season’s end, he should be looking at 900-plus yards rushing.
The Commanders feel like they have something in the seventh-round pick, according to commanders.com.
“I like the skills that we're seeing from Bill,” Quinn said. “And I'm encouraged by what I've seen so far. I know he was amped and ready to go for tonight, but he makes plays. He's got quickness. I love the ball security that he had tonight. Those are important things that you can't overlook.”
Rookie Jaylin Lane will score five touchdowns
It’s not out of the realm of possibility for Lane to emerge as the Commanders’ No. 3 receiver for parts of the season. And with defenses geared to stop Terry McLaurin and Deebo Samuel, Lane will likely get chances to make plays down the field.
This isn’t a prediction for big receiving numbers in terms of catches or yards. It’s purely scores with three receiving, one rushing, and one punt return. And five scores would be quite a start for the young receiver.
