While the Washington Commanders might have lofty goals for themselves after a trip to the NFC Championship game last season in an impressive season led by rookie Jayden Daniels, one sports analyst asks people to pump the brakes. As Daniels will look to excel with the Commanders in his sophomore season, ESPN's Damien Woody gives his candid take on how he thinks the team will play.

There's no doubt that Washington exceeded expectations last season, but they have made key acquisitions to signal their belief in the ability to compete. However, Woody would say on the show “Get Up” that while Daniels might be better, the team as a whole “might take a step back.”

“Jayden Daniels could have a better season, but the Washington Commanders might take a step back,” the two-time Super Bowl champion in Woody said. “I thought the Washington Commanders overachieved last year. Jayden Daniels was spectacular, no question about it. But if you look at the whole of the Washington commanders, like really, they shouldn't have been on the field with the Philadelphia Eagles last year.”

“They actually might take a little bit of a step backward,” Woody continued. “I think their defense is underwhelming, and some of these other NFC teams are on the come-up, the Rams, and some of these other teams. So watch, so Jayden Daniels could be better, but they might take a little bit of a step backward.”

What would count as a successful season for the Commanders?

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With fans predicting the Commanders' record with the schedule released, Woody's comments about the team might put the upcoming season into perspective. However, taking a step back for the team might just be winning one playoff game, which, to Jeff Darlington, counts as a successful season.

“Yeah, I think that's the proper level of grace, as we should put it, when it comes to teams like the Ravens and the Bills, anything other than the Super Bowl, quite frankly, at this point, feels like a failure for those teams,” Darlington said. “This is a team that knocked on the door and certainly should continue to achieve. I think a playoff win would certainly mark a successful season. Anything beyond that is really just continuing to knock on that door to eventually become what they want to be, which is champions.”

At any rate, Washington last season finished with a 12-5 record, which put them second in the NFC East, behind the eventual Super Bowl champions in the Eagles, whom they lost to in the NFC title game.