How Did The Washington Commanders Become Good?

For decades, the Washington Commanders were the blueprint for how not to run an NFL franchise.

Dysfunction. Scandal. Losing seasons. Empty seats. A decaying stadium. They weren’t just bad — they were the most cursed organization in pro football. The front office was a joke, the culture was toxic, and the fans? They were hanging on by threads.

And now… they’re good. Like actually good. A deep playoff run. NFC Championship appearance.

Relevance. Respect. A new stadium on the RFK site. And the 2027 NFL Draft? Coming to D.C.

So yeah. Let’s talk about it.

How the hell did the Washington Commanders become good?

DAN SNYDER IS GONE

Let’s get the obvious out of the way first: Dan Snyder — the worst owner in NFL history — is gone. That’s it. That’s the point.

You don’t understand how freeing that was unless you lived it. Or unless you were someone who watched the Commanders from afar and laughed every single year as they imploded from the top down. Snyder wasn’t just incompetent — he was a poison cloud hovering over the whole franchise.

And all it took to lift it? Someone even halfway competent to take over.

THE MAGIC OF MID COMPETENCE

Enter Josh Harris and the new ownership group.

Are they elite, forward-thinking masterminds like you’d find in San Francisco or Kansas City? Nah.

But guess what? They don’t have to be. The bar was underground. All they had to do was act like grown-ups.

And they did. They fixed the bathrooms. They fixed the branding. They fixed the workplace culture. They listened to fans. They gave the team some dignity back. It’s honestly stunning how far you can go in the NFL just by not being a clown show.

Also — Magic Johnson? Say what you want, but having a winner like him in the building doesn’t hurt. That dude radiates positive vibes and championship DNA. Every cursed franchise needs a little bit of magic.

BUILDING SMART

Here’s where it gets scary. Once they cleaned out the top, the football side started clicking. Good front office hires. Smart draft picks. No more desperation swings on washed-up vets or splashy, headline-hunting free agents. Instead, they built a team with cohesion. Depth. A system that makes sense.

The defense finally lived up to the hype. The offense? It grew up. The locker room? United. No drama. Just ball. And all of a sudden, a team everyone had written off as a punchline was pushing toward the damn Super Bowl.

THE CITY IS BUZZING AGAIN

Washington deserves this. It’s a football town at its core. The kind of place that breathes the sport — when the team’s worth rooting for. You saw it this year. That stadium rocked like it hasn’t in decades. People were proud to wear the gear again. And with the new stadium breaking ground where RFK stood? That’s not just symbolic. That’s redemption.

Hell, the NFL saw the momentum and gave them the 2027 Draft. That’s not a charity case. That’s a league saying: “Yeah, you’re back.”

NFC Championship Game

Now yeah… they got their asses handed to them in the NFC Championship Game. By a much better team. But here’s the thing — it didn’t matter. Not really. For the first time in forever, Commanders fans weren’t watching January football through gritted teeth or someone else’s playoff berth.

They were in it. They belonged. And even if they got smacked, getting there was the point.

They matter again.

Let this be a lesson: In the NFL, competence is a cheat code. You don’t need a miracle. You just need people who aren’t self-sabotaging lunatics running the show.

The Washington Commanders are a testament to what happens when a franchise finally gets out of its own way. And if this is just the beginning?

Then the NFC East might have a new problem on its hands.

Even if it still bleeds green.