Commanders-Lions preview: After Jayden Daniels’ injury, Washington’s season turns into a future test
The 2025 Washington Commanders season now plays like a story that lost its main character.
Jayden Daniels’ dislocated left elbow near the end of Sunday night’s 38-14 loss to the Seattle Seahawks didn’t just end another ugly game — it flipped the season’s tone from frustrating to funeral. The quarterback’s long-term health became the only plot that mattered.
Whether Daniels returns this season or not, Washington’s fourth straight defeat — the last three by at least 21 points — confirmed what most already sensed: this team is no longer chasing the postseason. The front office and fan base are now looking ahead, wondering who’ll still be standing when the next contending version of this roster takes shape.
The season’s relentless wave of injuries had already darkened the mood. Daniels’ injury made it pitch black.
Hours before Sunday’s 4:25 p.m. kickoff, the bigger concern for many fans wasn’t how the Commanders would slow down a Lions offense ranked near the top 10–12 in most categories or how efficient the offense would run with backup quarterback Marcus Mariota. It was whether the heavy security surrounding the expected attendance of President Donald Trump would turn traffic into gridlock.
This sad timeline also sapped much of the intrigue from Tuesday’s trade deadline — or at least changed it dramatically. Instead of wondering whether the front office might add help for a playoff push, the more realistic discussions centered on which players could be dealt to help the 2026 roster.
Dan Quinn faced questions about why Daniels remained in a blowout, and about possible lineup changes on both sides of the ball. Without the face of the franchise under center, talk of replacements or schematic tweaks shifted toward a different kind of evaluation: which young players deserve snaps over entrenched veterans.
Coverage of the Commanders has fully pivoted — from “how does this team rally?” to “where did it all go wrong?”
Washington’s season isn’t dead yet. Beat Detroit as eight-point underdogs and, with next week’s matchup in Madrid against the 2–7 Dolphins, playoff talk could technically hang on. But the focus has clearly moved toward the long-term future rather than Sunday’s rematch of last season’s divisional-round playoff meeting.
Without their electric playmaker, Washington’s best chance at a second-half rally — and the ability to overcome a defense that can’t get stops — went down with him.
1) Feels like now or never to have Chris Rodriguez become a bigger part of the RB rotation. Washington needs a steadier ground game and leaning into more power runs should be on the menu. Controlling the clock, along with winning the turnover battle, offers the best hope for a shocking win. That means staying with the ground game, even if only generating more two and three-yard runs than desired.
2) Will Mike Sainristil replace Marshon Lattimore or stay inside? Lions WR Amon-Ra St. Brown feasts from the slot and Sainristil has allowed more yards than any other slot CB. His three interceptions demonstrates instincts and playmaking. Maybe he moves back outside, where he shone often last season, and Jonathan Jones moves inside. The choice is about what’s best for Sunday. But bigger picture, leaving Sainristil at slot would suggest that’s where Washington sees him best despite the struggles. Putting the 5-foot-10 CB back outside could indicate the staff wants to see if that’s where he should play moving forward. Everyone in the secondary will look better if the defensive front wins against the Lions’ beat up offensive line.
3) Facing DE Aidan Hutchinson is the latest imposing test for rookie RT Josh Conerly Jr. and something of a measuring stick compared to the early-season matchups against Brian Burns, Micah Parsons and Maxx Crosby.
4) Unlocking former Titans 2022 first-riund WR Traylon Burks over the final weeks would offer a fun consolation prize for a WR room enduring a dismal campaign filled with injuries and inadequate options. The 6-foot-2, 225-pound Burks has the raw physical tools teams covet but he’s yet to showcase them while staying healthy.
5) Safeties Quan Martin and Tyler Owens, both “questionable” this week, seem to have a strong shot at playing. Both practiced on Friday, and the Commanders did not elevate a safety from the practice squad. Lions TE Sam LaPorta will be a handful for whomever takes the coverage challenge.
6) Inactives
With WR Robbie Chosen elevated from the practice squad, the Commanders need six names:
QB Jayden Daniels (elbow)
WR Terry McLaurin (quad)
OT Trent Scott
OT George Fant
LB Kain Medrano
LB Ale Kaho
Final choice: One of these LBs or TE Colson Yankoff? DT Eddie Goldman (concussion), also “questionable,” practiced in full the last two days. No 3rd QB makes these choices a bit tougher.
