The Washington Commanders made it to the NFC Championship game and won 12 regular-season games in Jayden Daniels' rookie season.
Such was his play, the Commanders vaulted to the top of the NFC pecking order, and based on their offseason signings, they intend to stay there.
Deebo Samuel and Laremy Tunsil were signed to upgrade two key offensive positions, with an "all-in" approach taken by general manager Adam Peters as they clearly want to take advantage of Daniels' rookie contract.
As such, when naming 10 teams whose Super Bowl windows are open, Pro Football Focus has the Commanders at No. 9...but only if one thing improves.
"If the Commanders have a window, it's large, mainly because of who they have at the most important position," Pro Football Focus writes. "There are gaping holes and aging players on the defensive side of the ball in Washington, but the team's young quarterback can compensate for that. However, Washington’s defense will need to step up to truly call this a Super Bowl window for the Commanders."
Given how well Daniels performed in Year 1, it is rather easy to envision the Commanders being contenders for as long as Jayden plays and is upright.
Granted, success in the NFL isn't linear and things change, but much like Patrick Mahomes with the Kansas City Chiefs, Daniels and the Commanders will be at the pointy end of the conversation when it comes to contending teams in the conference.
Now, that is a high bar, and we have only seen it for one year, but there's no reason to doubt that Washington's Super Bowl window is well and truly open for years to come.
