Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across the NFL. Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in Washington Commanders fans and fans across the country. Sign up here to participate
in the weekly emailed surveys.
Today, we have three questions in the Reacts survey.
Question 1
The first is our standard question that is posed every week of the season (until late-November, anyway), asking about your confidence in the team’s direction.
Question 2
Our second question is specifically about the NFC playoffs. There are two paths to the postseason; one is to win the division, the other is to qualify as a wildcard team.
To win the division, Washington needs to pass both Dallas and Philadelphia. One big opportunity that lies ahead with respect to that possibility is that Washington closes out its season with 4 straight NFC East games, including two against the Eagles.
Getting in as a wild card team means qualifying for the 5th, 6th or 7th seed. If the playoff seedings were to take place today, this is the competition for those spots:
With 9 games left to play, the Commanders are two wins behind the teams occupying the 5th, 6th and 7th spots in the NFC standings. Washington will play the Lions in two weeks.
Unfortunately,, having played and lost to the Bears and Falcons, Washington cannot win any simple 2-team tie breaker against then and will have to finish with a better overall record. They have lost to the Cowboys as well, but will have a chance to even that score in Week 17.
To achieve a winning season, Washington will need to win 6 of its final 9 games; to reach an overall record of 10-7 would require winning 7 more games.
Here is Washington’s remaining schedule:
Our second question simply asks: Do you believe the Commanders will make the playoffs this season?
Question 3
As you can see from the schedule above, Washington plays at home against Seattle this Sunday night. Barring a tie, the Commanders will finish Week 9 with a record of either 4-5 or 3-6.
The trade deadline is 4pm on the following Tuesday, November 9th.
Typically, teams that are in the playoff hunt try to acquire valuable players at the trade deadline from teams that have shifted their hopes to the future.
Key candidates for trade are veterans who are in a contract year or who are likely to be cut next season, but who are playing at a high enough level to interest other teams.
I think it’s obvious that Washington won’t be buyers at the trade deadline.
There are a few players who might attract interest in the trade market.
Daron Payne probably tops the list. He is under contract through 2026, but will cost the Commanders $28m in cap space next year. The team can save $16m against the ‘26 salary cap by cutting him in the coming offseason. Any team that trades for Payne would be on the hook for a $16.4m salary and a $5m roster bonus.
Deebo Samuel played very well in September and might be seen as a player who could be a difference-maker to a playoff team. He is in the final year of his contract.
Marshon Lattimore, for as much criticism as he has gotten from Commanders fans, is an NFL starting-caliber cornerback who might be able to help a potential playoff team that suffers a mid-season injury. Lattimore would cost the acquiring team $18.5m in 2026 (non-guaranteed) and about $7.5m for the balance of 2025. Washington would open up around $26m in cap space by trading him.
Frankie Luvu is under contract through 2026. He probably continues to have too much value to the Commanders to consider trading him, but he might bring good draft compensation in trade while opening up around $10m in cap space.
Today’s 3rd and final question is whether or not GM Adam Peters should attempt to trade any players (including those not listed above) ahead of the November 9th deadline.
Comments & Results
Of course, we invite you to answer the survey questions below, but also feel free to expand on your answers and provide nuance in the comments section. I rely on those comments when discussing the results of the survey when they are posted in a separate article the next few days.
