We’re getting close to another Minnesota Vikings game day, and this week we’ve gotten an opportunity to sit down and get some intel on the opponent for this week.
This week, I’ve exchanged some questions with with Andrew York of Hogs Haven, SB Nation’s home for everything relating to Washington Commanders football. Once they post my answers to Andrew’s questions, I will get them linked up in this piece. For now, here are the questions that I sent Andrew’s way and his responses.
1) Much like the Vikings, the Commanders have had a truly awful 2025 season after a highly successful 2024 campaign. Aside from the injury to Jaylen Daniels, which we’ll get to momentarily, where has it gone wrong this season for the Commanders?
The biggest problem has been injuries. On defense, the Commanders have been without their starting QB, WR1, WR3, and RB1 for most of the season. On defense, they have been without their top three defensive ends, best safety, and have lost their top two cornerbacks to season-ending injuries. What’s more, the injuries have been perfectly placed to expose weaknesses on the rest of the roster. The duo of Jayden Daniels and Terry McLaurin were really the tent poles that held up the offense, so losing them has caused the entire offense to regress. The injuries at DE have exposed the poor tackling of the secondary and inability of the LBs to contain runs to the edge.
The second biggest reason has been a much harder schedule. The Commanders played a relatively easy schedule last year, but this year’s schedule has been an absolute gauntlet and we always seem to be playing teams right when they have something to prove or are getting a bunch of important players back from injury.
The third biggest reason seems to be poor coaching by Commanders DC Joe Whitt Jr. The defense has looked out of place and befuddled for most of the season, something that was true last season, but was hidden by the offense carrying the team. Dan Quinn finally demoted Whitt and took over as DC himself in week 11 against the Dolphins and it was like a completely different defense stepped on the field. Players seemed to know their assignments and acted without hesitation. That defensive improvement continued last week against the Broncos and we’re hoping it will continue for the rest of the season.
2) The rumor was that Daniels was close to returning last week against Denver, but he had not yet been cleared for contact. What do you think are the chances that he comes back against Minnesota this week?
Jayden Daniels dislocated his left (non-throwing) elbow in week 9 against Seattle. He returned to non-contact practice last week and had his first full practice Thursday of this week. Since he has been able to practice in full, I think it’s very likely he’s going to play.
3) With things going the way they have in Minnesota, rumors are swirling about the futures of GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and head coach Kevin O’Connell. The Adam Peters/Dan Quinn regime in Washington has not been in place as long as those two gentlemen have, but is there a sense that either of their seats are even getting warm at this point?
I think Adam Peters and Dan Quinn are pretty safe, at least for this year. Team owner Josh Harris is known for being patient with his other sports teams (the Philadelphia 76ers and New Jersey Devils) and reports indicate he’s very aware that the team is suffering a flukey number of injuries that would ruin the playoff hopes of any team in the NFL. We also can’t forget that this team went 4-11 and held the number 2 pick in the draft a mere 2 years ago, so Adam Peters and Dan Quinn deserve a lot of credit for taking them to the NFC Championship game only a year later. If the defense had continued to look as poor as it did under Whitt, I think there’d be a bit more heat on Dan Quinn, but their improved play the last two games has them looking well coached.
4) Give us one “under the radar” player on each side of the ball for the Commanders that you feel will play a role in any potential success that they might have in this week’s game?
On offense, I’ll say RT Josh Conerly Jr. He was a 1st-round pick in this year’s draft and looked very rough to start the season, but has linearly improved with every game. Last week was his best game yet; he stood strong against a ferocious Broncos pass rush and was one of the best-graded OTs in the NFL that week. Between him and Laremy Tunsil, the Commanders may have some of the NFL’s best OL bookends for years to come. Maybe it’s cheating using a 1st-round pick as “under the radar”, but I don’t think Conerly has received much national press this year.
On defense, I’ll say DE Jacob Martin. Martin was a 6th-round pick by the Seahawks in 2018 and has been an NFL journeyman since then. Due to the numerous injuries at his position group, he’s been forced into a starting role and has made the most of his opportunity, with 3.5 sacks since week 7. He sets a pretty good edge against the run too, I’m hoping he can be extended as quality depth in the offseason.
5) The line for this one has already been pretty volatile. The Commanders opened as a favorite on the road but things have now shifted to the Vikings being a slight home favorite. How do you see this one playing out?
I’m not really sure why the betting line has shifted so much for this game in the last few days, unless Vegas has become more pessimistic about Jayden Daniels playing this week. I think last week’s game against Denver will actually serve as a model for this matchup, as it was also a game against a good defense and an inexperienced QB. I think the Commanders offense will employ a similar strategy of a power run game combined with quick passes to protect the QB against opposing pass rush. I think the Commanders defense will employ a similar strategy of disguising coverages and using simulated pressures to confuse a young QB. This game could absolutely go either way, but I think the Commanders will have a bit more of an edge than they did against the Broncos, so I’d expect them to narrowly edge out a win.
Thanks to Andrew for taking the time to answer our questions for this week!
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