NFC East Hopes One Stat Dooms Commanders As 'Dumpster Fire'
Few teams in NFL history enjoyed the kind of turnaround that the Washington Commanders engineered for themselves in 2024.
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After a four-win season in 2023, a new coach and quarterback jumpstarted the team capped by their first trip to the conference title game in over three decades.
As good as they were, though, the Commanders' brief run with success could be short-lived...or so their foes in the NFC East might wish.
Jimmy Kempski, a Philadelphia Eagles beat reporter for PhillyVoice, is publishing his annual "Why (Team X) will be a dumpster fire this season" series as he examines his way through each team in the NFC East.
The top identified problem for the Commanders? It's that most few teams that enjoyed that sort of one-year jump struggled mightily to maintain that success the following season.
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"Only the 1996-1998 Jets had an improvement once again after their initial breakout season," Kempski said. "On average, the above teams experienced a decrease of 3.9 wins the following season.''
"And let's be real about those 12 regular-season wins last season, Commanders fans,'' he wrote. "A lot of those were lucky. I mean, we can all admit that, right?"
That's a hard opinion.
NFC East fans can engage in a barroom brawl argument all offseason about about whether Washington's run was lucky last season.
But they can't deny that of the 14 teams that previously enjoyed an eight-win swing from one year to the next, 13 of them saw an average drop in win total of over three games in the ensuing year.
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Now, in fairness to what counts as "good,'' even that dip would still leave Washington with nine wins and a possible playoff berth.
But it would undoubtedly make things more difficult for the franchise this season. In the end, the defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles and the hopeful Dallas Cowboys sure hope Washington becomes a victim of history.
Related: 'Fat' Deebo 'Jacked' Photo Goes Viral In Telling Commanders' Truth
Related: Jayden Daniels' Commanders Own One 'Significant Advantage' In Super Bowl Chase
This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jul 3, 2025, where it first appeared.
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