The Commanders were the NFL's biggest surprise last season. They're struggling for an encore.

The Washington Commanders left the last NFL season as a big winner but at 3-3 in 2025, has struggled to build onto that breakout success.

The Philadelphia Eagles earned the NFL's ultimate prize last season, winning the franchise's second Super Bowl. Yet they weren't alone among the league's big winners.

Other than the Eagles, no team may have left last season happier than a division rival, Washington. It was an unexpected result.

For most of this century, the franchise had produced more investigations at the congressional, federal and state levels than on-field joy. Under owner Daniel Snyder, the team won fewer than half of its games. The team had been rebranded (2020 and 2022) more recently than it had won a playoff game (2005). Attendance fell to the worst in the league in 2022, the final season before Snyder announced he would sell the team.

Yet last season, under new ownership, a new coach and rookie-of-the-year quarterback Jayden Daniels, Washington won 12 games and advanced to a conference title game, the first time in 33 seasons either had occurred. With one of the league's best quarterbacks on a cost-controlled rookie contract, Washington had enormous flexibility to spend to build around Daniels and be "elite over the long term," owner Josh Harris said after last season. Bookmakers gave only six teams better odds to make the Super Bowl than Washington.

"We have a massive opportunity," Harris said.