Legions of faithful fans of the burgundy and gold have more than enough reason to feel they have reached the light at the end of the tunnel. Jayden Daniels and the Washington Commanders rejuvenated life into NoVA football fans with a record-breaking season filled with exhilarating plays on both sides of the ball.
And it was no surprise that Daniels was crowned the offensive rookie of the year at the 2025 NFL Honor awards. The 24-year-old won by a landslide, receiving 49 out of 50 first-place votes. He becomes just the third Commander to win the award, and the fourth player since 2000 to win a year after winning the Heisman.
In addition to Rookie of the Year, Daniels also took home NextGen Stat’s Moment of the Year for his game-winning Hail-Mary touchdown pass to defeat the Chicago Bears. He is already becoming one of the NFL’s more recognizable figures and had the top-selling sports jersey in 2025.
New Look
New ownership, led by billionaire Josh Harris and five-time NBA champion Magic Johnson, hired former Atlanta Falcons head coach and Dallas Cowboy defensive coordinator Dan Quinn as head coach in February 2024. Quinn then hired former Arizona Cardinals head coach Kliff Kingsbury as offensive coordinator and Joe Whitt Jr. as defensive coordinator.
Then, in April, the Commanders drafted 2023 Heisman award winner and Louisiana State University standout Jayden Daniels as their quarterback.
Surprising Season
Fans were prepared to weather the usual growing pains rookie quarterbacks and overhauled teams face. But to everyone’s delight, the new-look Washington Commanders proved to be much better than advertised.
Daniels became the first rookie quarterback in NFL history to surpass 1,000 passing yards and 250 rushing yards in the first five games of his career. He amassed more than 3,500 passing yards with 31 total touchdowns: 25 passing and six rushing. He also broke multiple league and franchise records. Those include rookie pass percentage (69.0 percent) and rookie QB rushing yards (891). Those records were held by former Washington quarterback Robert Griffin III.
The Commanders finished the regular season 12-5, their best record since the 1991 Super Bowl-winning campaign. After defeating the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in another 4th quarter thriller, Daniels became only the second QB to topple a No.1 seed in the playoffs. The team upset the highly favored Detroit Lions in the divisional round.
The stage was for the Commanders to face division rivals in the Philadelphia Eagles for the NFC championship. It was their first appearance in the game since their last Super Bowl campaign in 1991. But unfortunately, fans will have to wait until next year for another chance. The Commanders fell to the Eagles 23-55 in the NFC championship, proving there’s still more work to do.
Bright Future Ahead
While it is a bitter end to an otherwise outstanding season, this young and hungry Commanders team has plenty to look forward to. So, for all your native fans who made it through the scandals, career-altering injuries, unmet expectations, and utter dysfunction that was Washington football for the last two decades: Cheers to a great season, and for greater seasons to come; you deserve it.
Feature image courtesy Alamy Stock/Kirby Lee
