Washington Commanders Will Be Worst NFL Team in 2022
A couple of weeks ago on Daily Betslip, myself and Peter Dewey gave out who we thought were the best bets to finish as the worst team in the NFL this upcoming season.
I claimed that the Washington Commanders would finish with the worst record.
Now, listen, I've had a lot of hot takes over the years, but I didn't think saying that the Commanders would suck would end up being one of my most controversial. Bold take? Sure. Worst take? Not even close.
But fans of the Commanders found the clip on YouTube and proceeded to ROAST me in the comments. So, I figured I'd take some time to expand on my opinion.
Keep in mind, the Commanders are +3500 at FanDuel Sportsbook to finish with the worst record in the NFL. If you want a longshot bet before the season starts, there are none better.
Let's break things down.
Washington Commanders' Offense Outlook
I'll start things off by saying Terry McLaurin is one of the most skilled and talented receivers in the game. Unfortunately, a receiver can't carry a team by himself.
Obviously, the quarterback position is a big question mark. The team signed Carson Wentz in the offseason, and while many fans have convinced themselves that he's a significant upgrade from Taylor Heinicke, I beg to differ.
Heinicke finished with a better completion percentage (65% compared to 62.4%), more yards per game (213.7 compared to 209.6), and the same yards per pass attempt at 6.9. Sure, Heinicke threw a few more interceptions, but Wentz has set up better to succeed, but failed.
Now Wentz goes to a situation with a worse offensive line, worse coaching staff, and people are still hoping that he'll return to his 2017 form. Spoiler alert: he won't.
Wentz is one of the least mobile quarterbacks in the NFL, and now he has to play behind an offensive line that ranked 23rd in the NFL last season in sacks given up more game, and then got worse this offseason by losing right guard Brandon Scherff.
Washington Commanders' Defense Outlook
Heading into last season, people were praising Washington as having one of the best defensive units in football.
They ended up being arguably the most disappointing unit in all of football. Here is where they ranked in a few stats:
- 27th in opponent yards per play
- 31st in third down defense
- 28th in opponent yards per pass attempt
- 19th in sack percentage
- 25th in opponent points per game
- 21st in takeaways per game
Not exactly numbers that reflect a top tier defense. In fact, it looks a lot more like a bottom five defense to me.
Chase Young followed up his DROY campaign with a 2021 season that results in 1.5 sacks, three tackles for a loss, and 15 solo tackles in nine games before suffering a season-ending injury.
The Commanders also lost key defensive player, Landon Collins, this offseason.
Do you really expect them to be a dominant unit in 2022? I certainly don't.
All Signs Point to Disaster for Commanders
It's hard not to love Ron Rivera as a person, but I'm out on him as a coach. He hasn't coached a team to a winning record since 2017, and he's 14-19 as a head coach in Washington.
Their offense got worse, their defense got worse, and their coaches haven't shown any signs of being able to turn this franchise around.
There's one good counterpoint to my argument, and it's that they have one of the easier schedules in the NFL this season. That part is true, and is likely a big reason why they're 35/1 to finish with the worst record.
Whether or not they have the No. 1 overall pick in the NFL Draft last season is largely debatable. But, I'll die on the hill that they'll be one of the worst teams in the league in 2022.
You can track Iain's bets on Betstamp here.