Oct. 19, 2025, 6:05 AM EDTBy Andrew GreifThe 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.That opportunity to go from one of the league’s biggest surprises to sustained success has been tested ever since. At 3-3, the Commanders have struggled to build on last season’s breakout success.Last season, their surge began in October after Daniels completed a Hail Mary touchdown to beat the Chicago Bears. It remains to be seen how much one play from their rematch against Chicago last week could dictate the rest of this season.Holding the ball while leading 24-22 with three minutes left in regulation Daniels, playing in wet weather, couldn’t grip a snap and fumbled a handoff attempt that Chicago recovered. The Bears used the turnover to eventually kick a game-winning field goal.”Completely my fault,” Daniels said after the game.The team’s overall struggles aren’t; several of Daniels’ metrics are up in his second season, and Sunday he has a chance to become the first Washington player ever to throw 10 or more passing touchdowns with one or no interceptions through five games (he has thrown seven touchdowns and one pick). But Daniels has been hurt, missing two games, and injuries have also sidelined some of his top targets, including Terry McLaurin and Noah Brown. Still, the Commanders rank in the top 10 in yards per play, and they often their drives turn into scores. Washington’s defense also has been a mixed bag. It has forced just three turnovers, third fewest in the league, and opponents’ possessions end in turnovers about half as often as last season. They have been on the field for 389 defensive snaps, ninth most, yet rank among the league’s better half in points allowed.Washington Commanders head coach Dan Quinn in Landover on Oct. 13.Scott Taetsch / Getty ImagesWashington has also shown a penchant for falling behind by double digits, doing it in four of their six games, with coach Dan Quinn saying after the loss to the Bears that “we’ve become way too accustomed to digging ourselves out of holes. “All three phases dug the hole, and all three phases helped get out, but we didn’t create enough takeaways. To finish minus-three [against the Bears], you really don’t deserve to win many games in that space.”The next month will be a litmus test for the team’s postseason viability. Sunday, Washington faces the Dallas Cowboys, whose 2-3-1 record doesn’t quite reveal the challenge they could pose. Then there is a Week 8 matchup against a Kansas City Chiefs team that suddenly looks dangerous again and consecutive matchups in Weeks 9 and 10 against two of the NFC’s toughest teams in the Detroit Lions and the Seattle Seahawks. The season closes with four consecutive division games against the New York Giants, Dallas and Philadelphia (twice). One analysis ranks Washington’s remaining schedule as the 15th most difficult in the 32-team league. But as last week’s fumbled handoff showed, nothing in the NFL comes easy.What we’re watching for in Week 7Rams (4-2) at Jaguars (4-2): Something’s got to give during an early start in London. Jacksonville’s 10 interceptions lead the NFL, while Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford has thrown only two picks on 209 attempts but has five fumbles. Saints (1-5) at Bears (3-2): Chicago quarterback Caleb Williams would be expected to complete 71.5% of his passes this season, according to the NFL’s Next Gen Stats — which measures factors such as receiver location and a quarterback’s distance from the nearest tackler. Yet Williams has completed only 61.6%, and that 9.9-point gap is the largest completion percentage under expectations in the league. Dolphins (1-5) at Browns (1-5): No defense has allowed opponents to score more than Miami’s, which is allowing points on a league-worst 60% of possessions. Patriots (4-2) at Titans (1-5): In their first game since they fired their coach, the Titans need to try to protect No. 1 pick Cam Ward better. He has been sacked a league-high 25 times, six more than anyone else.Raiders (2-4) at Chiefs (3-3): Kansas City has yet to commit a fumble this season, and it has a league-low two total turnovers in six games. The Raiders have fumbled just once. On the other hand, they’ve thrown a league-high 10 picks. Eagles (4-2) at Vikings (3-2): Saquon Barkley ran behind the NFL’s best offensive line last season, averaging 3.8 yards per carry before being hit. This year, that average has been halved, an indication of injuries to the line and predictability that defenses have figured out. Panthers (3-3) at Jets (0-6): Though Ward has been sacked the most overall (25 times), New York’s Justin Fields has been sacked on a higher percentage of his drop backs, a whopping 13%. The last team to start 0-7 was the 2021 Lions.Giants (2-4) at Broncos (4-2): New York’s Jaxson Dart can become the first rookie quarterback since 1950 to beat three .500 or better teams in his first four starts. Denver’s Nik Bonitto leads the NFL with eight sacks, while the Giants’ Brian Burns ranks third with 7½. Colts (5-1) at Chargers (4-2): The NFL’s top rusher, Jonathan Taylor (603 yards), faces a Chargers defense that struggles to contain the run, allowing 5.0 yards per carry, fifth worst in the league.Commanders (3-3) at Cowboys (2-3-1): Cowboys receiver CeeDee Lamb could return after having missed three games with an ankle sprain. Dallas is 6-0 against Washington at home when quarterback Dak Prescott starts.Packers (3-1) at Cardinals (2-4): Arizona has lost four straight games by four points or less. Meanwhile the Packers are looking for their first 5-1 start since 2021. Falcons (3-2) at 49ers (4-2): Even without starting quarterback Brock Purdy for much of the season, San Francisco averages a league-high 291.5 passing yards. Atlanta’s Michael Penix Jr. averaged 201 yards and threw for one touchdown combined in his first three games this season, but in two games since then, he has thrown three touchdowns, while averaging 281 yards.Buccaneers (5-1) at Lions (4-2) on Monday: Tampa Bay’s Baker Mayfield is building an MVP campaign with 12 passing touchdowns and just one interception. Texans (2-3) at Seahawks (4-2) on Monday: Love defense? This game’s for you. Houston leads the NFL in points allowed (just 12.2 per game), while Seattle ranks sixth (19.5). Houston has allowed only three passing touchdowns in five games. Andrew GreifAndrew Greif is a sports reporter for NBC News Digital.