The Washington Commanders’ 2025 schedule looks to be an exciting one for Washington fans, and it comes with a lot of storylines worth watching. Here’s a look at storylines that will make for a memorable 2025 season for the Commanders.
1: Washington’s schedule is much tougher than last season
Last season, Washington had a decent schedule, which was needed with a rookie quarterback and a team coming off a major roster overhaul. They showed they belonged throughout the season and even in the playoffs on the road for the entire postseason. This year, the NFL knows that the Commanders are a real threat, and the schedule isn’t forgiving by any means. Washington currently has the 8th toughest schedule in the NFL, which can obviously change with injuries, etc. The Commanders also lead the league in games vs opponents coming off a bye week with four games of such.
The good news, however, is that the seven teams above them are in the NFC East and NFC North, which are the top competitors for playoff implications. A majority of the tough primetime games are at home, and they avoid an away game by playing on a neutral site in Spain against the Dolphins. They also play on the road against the Packers early in the season, avoiding a cold tundra game. The schedule is much tougher this season, but the roster is better, and the schedule does work in Washington’s favor in some ways.
2: The NFL loves the Washington Commanders and wants the world to watch them
The first thing that popped out of the schedule was the historic amount of primetime and standalone games for Washington this season. The Commanders have EIGHT standalone games this season for the first time in franchise history. Jayden Daniels took the NFL by storm, and the NFL wants to see the Commanders continue to build off of this monumental franchise turnaround. The Commanders have a Thursday night game, two Sunday night games, two Monday night games, a Saturday game, and even have a Christmas game for the first time ever. Washington is also growing the brand internationally this season, with a trip to Madrid, Spain. The Commanders’ hype is real, and the NFL wants to take advantage of it. Jayden Daniels is also growing as a major face of the league and a favorite player for other fan bases that didn’t get their hearts broken by him last season.
3: Jayden Daniels vs. Bo Nix on SNF. The showdown of the top two rookie QB seasons
Last season, we saw Jayden Daniels take on two other rookie quarterbackers in his historic season, which led to Offensive Rookie of the Year honors, and he finished 2-0 against them. Both matchups against Caleb Williams and Michael Penix Jr ended in crazy fashion, and had major implications for the rest of the season. Bo Nix was the only other rookie quarterback to take his team to the playoffs, but they fell short in the Wild Card round to the Bills. Jayden was the huge favorite to win ORTY, but Bo Nix put up a fight down the season to impress. Washington and Denver fans went back and forth on social media last season on the Daniels vs Nix debate, but couldn’t settle it on the field. This game might not end with a Hail Mary, but this has the makings of a very competitive matchup on Sunday Night Football with a stout Broncos defense. Get your popcorn ready for this home game primetime matchup between two top sophomore quarterbacks.
4: Will Jayden Daniels have a sophomore slump?
The answer is no. If there’s one thing that Jayden Daniels has shown since he entered the league, it’s that he’s different and already has the work ethic of a veteran. Between virtual reality training and bulking up in the offseason, Jayden Daniels isn’t your typical quarterback coming off a historic rookie season. Yes, it will be really hard to compete with his insane season last year, so of course, people are going to criticize and say that Jayden Daniels will have a down season this year.
He gets to grow another season under Kliff Kingsbury, who could’ve easily left this offseason, and also received major help with new weapons on offense. Adam Peters knows that he has a franchise-changing quarterback, and he went the aggressive route to trade for both Laremy Tunsil and Deebo Samuel, as well as drafting Josh Conerly Jr, Jaylin Lane, and Jacory Croskey-Merritt to improve the offensive production and protect Jayden in the pocket. The offense got a major boost, and Jayden could easily be on pace for an MVP-type season over a sophomore slump.
5: The NFC East, and possibly the No. 1 seed in the NFC, will be determined in the last two weeks.
The NFL thinks that the NFC East has the best chance to get the No. 1 seed in the NFC playoffs, and they loaded up the schedule to prove it. Washington finishes the season with four straight NFC East matchups and two matchups against the Eagles in a three-week stretch. Washington plays Philadelphia at home on Saturday, December 20th, then turns around to face the Cowboys at home on Christmas Day, which could shake up the division. They get a needed longer stretch before their final game against the Eagles, which can be flexed into another primetime game, and possibly for the NFC East championship, and the number one overall seed in the playoffs.
This isn’t a coincidence by any means. The NFL knows this is how the season can be determined, and they want to avoid benching players at the end of the season. This will be the most competitive stretch of the season in the NFL, with Washington being the only team to finish the season with four consecutive division games.