Washington Commanders: Extreme outcomes for the 2023 season
By Hunter Noll
Washington Commanders’ 2023 worst-case scenario
It could get ugly pretty quickly if things go south for the Washington Commanders this season. But honestly, the worst-case scenario doesn’t deal with the team only winning two games or anything like that. No, no, no, no.
If things end up miserably for the Commanders, that likely means that Sam Howell didn’t pan out at quarterback. That’s okay, though. Washington could just use that top pick they’ll get on a quarterback in the upcoming draft.
But what if Howell struggles so badly that he’s out of favor by Week 5? In comes Jacoby Brissett, someone who has proven to be a very serviceable quarterback. With him under center, the ship is corrected, and Washington is decent the rest of the way.
However, they had already been dug into a deep hole. The team finishes with an 8-9 record. They don’t make the playoffs, but they don’t get a top draft pick either.
On the defensive side, Chase Young and Montez Sweat have strange seasons, and the team isn’t sure what to do with either. The secondary struggles as the rookies couldn’t carry the load, and the linebackers are on the wrong side of average.
Another year of that insane interior duo of Jonathan Allen and Da’Ron Payne is wasted. Another year of Terry McLaurin is wasted. Jahan Dotson hits a sophomore slump with such uneven play at QB, and Curtis Samuel is okay but not worth the money. Suddenly Washington feels like their back to having McLaurin and no one else.
The offensive line’s holes continue to crop up, the running back duo is okay but nothing special, and the tight end problem is as glaring as ever. Washington doesn’t have a top pick to find a new quarterback, and Howell wasn’t the right choice.
Now Washington needs to either use a massive haul to trade up for a quarterback or wait another year through mediocrity. And now it feels like there are even more holes to try and fill, so trading away all your picks is a massive risk.
Fans aren’t happy for what feels like the 500th year in a row. The team continues to not have a direction. I’m 30 now and will have still not seen a Super Bowl contender. Yay.