Hogs Haven
The 2025 season did not turn out like anyone hoped or expected. Christmas is just around the corner, and instead of gift-wrapped playoff seeds under the tree, Commanders fans can look forward to big lumps of coal in their stockings.
For the roughly 2/3 of Hogs Haven readers whose outlook seems to swing up and down from week to week, depending on game outcomes, it may be time to either tune out or wallow in the misery with lamentations of offseason mistakes and calls for the coaching staff and/or front office to be fired, and maybe even for the owner to sell the team.
If that’s you, the Tank Watch is probably not your thing. This series is pitched to the roughly 1/3 of the fanbase who manage to keep an even keel despite the inevitable ups and downs of a franchise rebuild. No doubt this includes a fair share of “rusted on fans” and Commanders’ “tragics” who are in this for the long haul.
Tank aficionados are made of stronger stuff than the run of the mill fair-weather fan. They recognize that you can’t have a rebirth without going through the pains of labor.
Those fans who have what it takes to ride through a few bumps in the road on the way to the promised land were handsomely rewarded with a bounty of Hanukkah presents as the menorah was lit to celebrate the 6th through 8th nights of the Festival of Lights.
While there was nothing that jolly old Saint Nick could do about the lack of a playoff seeding this year, the football gods – in whatever form they take – smiled upon the Commanders by granting most of Adam Peters’ wishes to optimize his draft position come April. With their assistance, the Commanders got back on track to potentially finish as high as second in the draft order, after the hiccup in New York, moving them back into range of the upper echelon of draft prospects, and possibly even cracking the door back open on franchise-resetting trade-back offers.
By failing to overcome the heavily-favored Eagles, the Commanders capitalized on the Saints win over the Jets to advance one position in the draft order. Commanders’ fans can thank the resurgent Saints for extending their own winning streak to three. But the truth is, a Jets win would have looked just as good under the tree.
Perhaps more importantly, out of 16 games in Week 15, 10 were decided in a direction that favored Washington’s draft position, either directly, by influencing the W-L margin with key competitors, or indirectly through effects on the Strength of Schedule (SOS) tie breaker. In addition to the Saints-Jets and Commanders-Giants games, these included some key matchups highlighted in last week’s Tank Watch, such as Steelers-Lions, Patriots-Ravens, Bills-Browns, and Chargers-Cowboys, as well as the somewhat unexpected bonus Titans’ win over the Chiefs.
Here is how the draft order currently stands, heading into the long Christmas weekend of...
