The Commanders entered this season with so much hope. They had finished last season at 8-8-1, their first non-losing season since 2016, and had won their final game of the year over the Cowboys after inserting rookie Sam Howell in for his first career start in the NFL.
Head coach Ron Rivera set about reinventing the offense during the offseason, luring Eric Bieniemy away from the Chiefs to be Washington’s new offensive coordinator. With Bieniemy bringing the Chiefs offense to Washington and the flash that Howell had shown in his lone game as a rookie, there was hope that the Commanders might compete for the playoffs.