In the NFL, good vibes are fleeting.
Just 19 months ago, the Eagles and Commanders were headed into the offseason feeling like they had world-beaters at quarterback. Philadelphia had just conquered the football world, blowing out the Chiefs in Super Bowl LIX with Jalen Hurts taking home MVP honors.
Washington, meanwhile, was fresh off its first NFC Championship Game appearance in over 30 years with rookie phenom Jayden Daniels leading the way. Life was good, and that conference championship game felt like the first installment of the NFL’s next great quarterback rivalry.
The 2026 season opener will be the first time Hurts and Daniels have faced off since that playoff game and there’s been a significant vibe shift on both sides of the matchup. Both quarterbacks are coming off frustrating 2025 seasons that may have cast some doubt on their long-term future with their respective teams.
Hurts and Daniels will be seeking massive contract extensions in the offseason. At that point, Hurts will have one year left on the extension he signed in 2023, and Daniels will be entering his third offseason, when first-round quarterbacks either sign their first big-money extension or end up in contract purgatory, a la Bryce Young in Carolina.
So, the stakes are clear for both quarterbacks in 2026: A bounce-back season will be rewarded with a big payday. But if last year’s struggles bleed over into this season, contract talks might be put on hold.
The bar for a successful season is lower for Daniels than it is for Hurts, with Washington expected to finish in the bottom half of the NFC East.
If the third-year pro can just stay healthy for the full 17-game slate, that will be considered a win. If Daniels stays healthy and rediscovers his 2024 form, Washington will write him a blank check in the spring. It’s just hard to envision a repeat of that magical rookie season given the current state of the Commanders offense.
Jayden Daniels faces a crucial upcoming season amidst uncertainties around the Commanders roster. (G Fiume/Getty Images)
The offensive line was an issue last season and will be worse off in 2026 with star left tackle Laremy Tunsil out indefinitely with a torn triceps. Also, it will be up to first-year offensive coordinator David Blough, who’s just three seasons into his coaching career, to work around that massive weakness.
It would be understandable if Daniels doesn’t fully bounce back, but Washington may be reluctant to fork over a top-of-the-market deal for a player coming off two disappointing seasons, especially if more injuries pop up. The Commanders wouldn’t have to move off Daniels, but they’d likely push contract talks into the following offseason, which is typically a bad sign for a first-round quarterback.
Daniels had issues targeting the middle of the field in 2025, but it was less about his reluctance to make those throws and more about his inability to complete them. Per Pro Football Focus, his accuracy rate on intermediate throws dropped by nearly 10% compared to his rookie season. There were a lot of poorly placed passes on his 2025 film.
But the statistical dip can’t be pinned entirely on Daniels, who was throwing into tighter windows last season. With wide receiver Terry McLaurin out hurt, the Commanders were trotting some abysmal receiving groups out there. It got to a point where tight end Zach Ertz became Daniels’ best option against man coverage. Ertz is still a useful player, but when a 35-year-old is your most reliable option on key passing downs, it’s awfully hard to play quarterback.
Daniels’s regression from Year 1 to Year 2 can mostly be explained by his performance against man coverage and the blitz, which are closely linked. Washington didn’t have receivers who could punish a defense for playing aggressively, and Daniels loses accuracy when he’s forced to drive a throw into tight coverage. He’s one of the NFL’s better quarterbacks when throwing with touch in between the lines of a zone defense. He just didn’t get to do it often last season.
Washington’s offense should be more equipped to deal with aggressive coverage in 2026. Stefon Diggs, who joined via free agency, was one of the NFL’s most productive receivers against tight man-to-man coverage last season. McClaurin is healthy again. And the team prioritized explosive athletes to fill out the rest of the receiving corps, including third-round rookie Antonio Williams and former first-round pick Treylon Burks.
Even with the upgrades, this isn’t a world-beating receiving corps, so Daniels will have to take a step as an intermediate passer to make it work.
Last week, Eagles general manager Howie Roseman defended Hurts and denied that the clock is ticking on his time in Philadelphia despite the team’s passing game struggles over the past few seasons. “I think the bottom line for us … is winning football games,” Roseman said on a recent appearance on the “Move the Sticks” podcast. “And all [Hurts] does is win soccer video games … for me, the barometer is profitable soccer video games.”
I don’t count on Roseman to get into the nuances of quarterback analysis throughout a podcast hit, however that’s a reductive view of Hurts that additionally suggests his worth to the group is immediately tied to its profitable proportion. If the Eagles have a down 12 months, and the passing recreation doesn’t enhance, will the entrance workplace view of Hurts shift? If that’s the case, then it does really feel like there’s loads using on this season in regard to his future with the group.
Final season ended for Jalen Hurts with a wild-card loss at dwelling to the 49ers. (Mitchell Leff/Getty Photos)
Supporting expertise is much less of a priority for Hurts – who remains to be surrounded by blue-chip gamers even after the group traded away his prime receiver, A.J. Brown – however he’ll even be getting his play calls from an inexperienced offensive coordinator with Sean Mannion coming over from Inexperienced Bay.
Whereas Hurts is not any stranger to OC modifications, that is the primary time in his NFL profession the place he’ll must study a completely new offense from the bottom up. Mannion is Nick Sirianni’s fifth offensive coordinator in Philly, however it’s the primary time he’s gone exterior of his teaching tree to make a rent.
This received’t be some delicate rebrand. The Eagles offense can be a completely new factor. Hurts received’t be enjoying within the shotgun practically as a lot and there can be fewer unfold formations. It’s going to look extra just like the 49ers and Rams offenses, with the quarterback beneath heart, condensed formations, and plenty of play-action passing.
That’s the hope, at the very least.
In April, ESPN dropped a report on the group’s rising frustration with Hurts’ reluctance to step exterior of his consolation zone, which created plenty of the problems which have plagued Philly’s passing recreation over the previous three seasons.
Right here’s a key excerpt from the report: “He has pushed again on modifications that might diversify the scheme, sources stated, together with in relation to him going beneath heart extra. He has proven a reluctance to let it rip at instances, notably in opposition to zone protection.”
Jalen Hurts faces a probably huge adjustment to new Eagles offensive coordinator Sean Mannion’s offense this season. (Mitchell Leff/Getty Photos)
The report additionally coated Hurts butting heads with former offensive coordinator Kellen Moore over using pre-snap movement. Moore, who’s been calling performs for NFL offenses since 2019, is a giant proponent of the tactic however dialed again his utilization in 2024 to go well with Hurts’ preferences.
ESPN additionally quoted sources near Hurts who denied these claims, however this season will give us a transparent reply. Mannion’s offense is constructed round all of the ways which might be supposedly exterior of the quarterback’s consolation zone. This method doesn’t work with out pre-snap movement. It doesn’t work with out going beneath heart. And it doesn’t work when the quarterback is reluctant to “let it rip” over the center of the sphere in opposition to zone protection.
Hurts’ reluctance to throw over the center of the sphere isn’t simply theoretical at this level. Per Subsequent Gen Stats, Hurts focused the center third of the sphere on the league’s lowest charge in 2025. It was the fifth 12 months in a row he’s completed that feat. He’s had 4 totally different offensive coordinators over that span, so there’s a transparent frequent denominator.
My principle: Hurts doesn’t have top-end arm energy however makes up for it with a eager understanding of his personal limitations. Hurts avoids the center of the sphere for a similar cause Jared Goff doesn’t throw on the run: it’s not his recreation. Making throws into tight zone home windows with repeated success isn’t in his wheelhouse and never a profitable technique for him. It may maintain again the offense at instances, however it limits turnovers. Right here’s an instance from the Eagles’ loss to the Broncos final season.
You’ll be able to see Hurts take into account making the stick throw to large receiver DeVonta Smith between two zone defenders earlier than pondering higher of it and settling for an out-of-structure heave downfield.
However when the home windows are clearer – or the Eagles are in catch-up mode late and turnovers are much less of a priority – Hurts will take his pictures over the center.
If this scheme change goes to work, considered one of two issues must occur: Both Mannion is the second-coming of Shanahan and constantly supplies Hurts with clear throwing home windows over the center, or Hurts takes extra possibilities, even when it results in a small bump to his interception totals.
Sunday’s opener can be our first glimpse on the new offenses in Washington and Philadelphia. Whereas it’s essential to offer these first-year coordinators some grace and provides their quarterbacks time to get acclimated to their new digs, the sport will present an ideal stress check for Daniels and Hurts because of the defensive matchups on either side.
How will Daniels fare in opposition to an Eagles secondary that closes throwing home windows in addition to any protection within the league? Will Hurts look snug going beneath heart and turning his again to the protection on play-action protection in opposition to a Washington scheme constructed round pre-snap disguises and post-snap chaos?
The reply to these questions can have ramifications that stretch far past the ultimate rating on Sunday. They’ll decide how far the Eagles and Commanders can go in 2026 and the way a lot confidence they need to have of their franchise quarterbacks past this season.
