Dallas Cowboys 2026 Opponent Preview: Washington Commanders
Continuing our previews of the Dallas Cowboys 2026 opponents, it is time to wrap up the NFC East with the Washington Commanders. Most recently, we looked at the very new-look New York Giants , who the Cowboys will see in week one, and it won’t be long after that until the Cowboys play the Commanders, hosting them in week two. The Cowboys swept the Commanders for the second time in three seasons last year, pulling away in the second half of a week seven home win, and winning at Washington on Christmas Day. Both games were marked by the familiar theme of the Commanders having availability issues at quarterback. Jayden Daniels was knocked out of the 44-22 runaway Cowboys win in Arlington, replaced by Marcus Mariota . Daniels only appeared in two more games the rest of the season after this week seven loss, and one of them was not on Christmas against the Cowboys, as that game was started by journeyman Josh Johnson . Going into year three of Dan Quinn as head coach, the Commanders are facing a bit of an identity crisis, falling from 12-5 and an appearance in the NFC Championship game in Daniels’ rookie season to 5-12 battling through his injuries last season, only one game ahead of the last place Giants. Like the Cowboys, the Commanders have done well to maintain a high amount of continuity on offense, but for the first time in Quinn’s tenure in Washington he will not have Kliff Kingsbury as offensive coordinator, and questions persist about their ability to protect Daniels to make any of this matter anyway. On defense, the Commanders have made a lot of changes to lean even further into the style that Quinn wants to play, and even done some things that Cowboys fans familiar with this defense would certainly call uncharacteristic, most notably drafting an 0ff-ball linebacker in the top ten with Sonny Styles . Week two is early enough to expect the Cowboys to see Jayden Daniels, and if this Commanders defense gets up to speed quickly as well, this game could easily prove to be a second straight close NFC East battle that will go a long way in shaping up the final division standings at the end of the year. Let’s take a closer look at everything the Commanders did this offseason so far. * SIGNED IN FREE AGENCY OT Laremy Tunsil (Re-signed) G Chris Paul (Re-signed) QB Marcus Mariota (Re-signed) WR Treylon Burks (Re-signed) DE Odafe Oweh CB Ahkello Witherspoon DT Tim Settle LB Leo Chenal CB Rasul Douglas DE K’Lavon Chaisson SAF Nick Cross DE Charles Omenihu RB Rachaad White WR Van Jefferson * DEPARTED IN FREE AGENCY C Tyler Biadasz CB Jonathan Jones QB John Johnson CB Noah Igbinoghene Perhaps one of the unexpected things that rubbed off on Dan Quinn during his time with the Cowboys is how to prioritize re-signing internal free agents, as this list shows key re-signings they’ll be relying on in the trenches to protect their most valuable player at QB. On the departure side, it is interesting to see two former Cowboys in Biadasz and Igbinoghene leave the team, as well as Jonathan Jones leaving the Commanders for the rival Eagles. The area the Commanders did the most work with external free agents is the defensive line. Settle, Chaisson, Omenihu, and Oweh give this team a new pass rush look up front, joining mainstays in Javon Kinlaw , Daron Payne , and former Cowboy Dorance Armstrong who is still with the Commanders. Gone are the days of the Commanders stockpiling Alabama-bred defensive linemen, particularly interior tackles, and having lines that were good at holding the line of scrimmage, but lacked in juice. Quinn is looking to rebuild an aggressive, penetrating defense starting with the front, and has some big new names in the secondary to tie this defense together as well. Ahkello Witherspoon coming over from the Rams is the headline here along with Rasul Douglas, as well as Nick Cross at safety. The Commanders allowed just two less passing touchdowns than the awful Matt Eberflus led Cowboys defense last sea [... truncated ...]
