While the Washington Commanders haven’t been mathematically eliminated from the playoffs, it’s safe to say losing to the Miami Dolphins in overtime in Week 11 may have extinguished even the faintest hopes of the most optimistic Commanders fans.
The Commanders have now lost 6 consecutive games to drop to 3-8 overall and have a brutal schedule over their final 6 games. In that stretch, they might only be favored to win in one of them, in a Week 15 on the road against the New York Giants.
Washington has a bye in Week 11 but returns home to face the Denver Broncos in Week 12 — a legitimate AFC contender. They also play the defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles twice in the last 3 games.
That’s not where the Commanders thought they would be after making the NFC Championship Game last season — their first trip since 1991 — and retooling in the offseason to the point where they were a trendy Super Bowl pick.
“After a 1-6 start, the Dolphins have now won three out of four as they enter the bye, with the 2-8 Saints and 2-8 Jets awaiting on the other side,” the NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero wrote after the Dolphins’ 16-13 overtime win. “Meanwhile, the Commanders — nine months after an NFC Championship Game appearance — fall to 3-8.”
There is, however, a silver lining that might come with being this bad. If the NFL season ended today, they would have the No. 7 overall pick in the 2026 NFL draft.
Keep losing and who knows how high they could rise? Only one game separates the Commanders from the New Orleans Saints, who currently hold the No. 2 overall pick
Commanders Could Make Waves With High Pick
After the loss to the Dolphins it didn’t seem too soon to start speculating on what the Commanders might do with a high pick — and a healthy lineup. The Commanders entered their game against the Dolphins with 46 missed games from players who started in the season opener, which was the most in the NFL through Week 11.
“Washington is going to have a top 5 draft pick AND prob $90M in cap space to use in free agency,” Hogs Haven’s Mark Tyler wrote on his official X account after the loss to the Dolphins. “This CAN be fixed, but it has to be done right!”
“Clutch loss,” podcast host Al Galdi wrote on his X account. “Wasn’t sure the Commanders could pull it off, but they found a way. Leapfrog Miami in draft order. A top-five pick in the 2026 NFL Draft is a very real possibility. The amount of good that could be done via trading that pick to a QB-needy team can not be overstated.”
That’s actually an interesting way to look at getting that high of a pick — it would be an incredible bartering chip if the Commanders wanted to make a deal for an elite edge rusher like Cleveland Browns superstar Myles Garrett.
It could also be where the Commanders find a homegrown defensive superstar to build with. In a perfect world, that might be a player like University of Miami defensive end Rueben Bain, who is considered a generational talent for his ability to dominate games essentially anywhere on the defensive line.
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