Every season, each team goes through a tough period that causes them to question the team, scheme, and everything in between, and the Washington Commanders are in that phase right now.
After a positive start to the new era under head coach Dan Quinn and general manager Adam Peters, the Commanders have been struggling lately, losing their last three games - including most recently an upset at the hands of the hated Dallas Cowboys.
Given that this is the first time that the team has faced such adversity, there could be a concern that the locker room might begin to fracture and players enter self-preservation mode.
But Jayden Daniels knows that isn't in this locker room's mentality.
"I think it's just a special group of guys that like to be around each other and have each other's back," Daniels said. "So win, lose or draw, we're always here for each other, we're not pointing fingers, not turning on each other. The locker room is pretty strong to me."
With playoffs still on the agenda, Washington needs to pick up the pace or risk getting left behind in the postseason chase.
There is a delicate balancing act that the Commanders must undertake, and it is to balance the need for urgency in a bid to snap this three-game skid but also not to try and overdo things on the field in an attempt to rush the process.
Quinn has preached the need to stay the course and focus on one play at a time, but it can be tough when things aren't going the way you want.
Luckily, the Commanders have a locker room that isn't about to fold; they're going to fight their way through this, and that is where the culture that Quinn is trying to create will come to serve the team well.
