NFL Power Rankings: Commanders Contenders?

The Washington Commanders are inching closer to the top 15 after winning five of their last six games.

The Washington Commanders had its most dominant win of the season with a 23-10 victory over the Houston Texans on Sunday.

The win put Washington above .500 for the first time since week one, and they remain a half-game out of a playoff spot.

After Sunday and winning five out of their last six games, the Commanders are ranked 19th in Sports Illustrated’s power rankings.

“The Commanders are at the back end of our fringe-contender area,” SI writes. “They move up one spot from last week but aren’t soaring despite a convincing two-game stretch over the previous two weeks. As mentioned above, Washington’s schedule is prohibitive, but its quarterback play is also regressing to baseline levels while the running game and defense struggle to pick up the slack.”

While Taylor Heinicke may not be lighting the stat line, there’s no arguing the results. Since he became the starting quarterback, Washington has won four of its five games.

The lone loss came to the Minnesota Vikings on Nov. 6. Minnesota had to come back from a 10-point deficit to defeat the Commanders 20-17 and is currently the No. 2 seed in the NFC.

Head coach Ron Rivera has named Heinicke the starting quarterback moving forward.

Running the ball and controlling the time of possession has carried Washington in its recent run. On Nov. 14, the Commanders ran for 152 yards and had the ball for 40 minutes and 24 seconds in their 32-21 win over the Philadelphia Eagles. Washington found similar success on Sunday against the Texans, with 153 rushing yards and having the ball for 34 minutes and 56 seconds.

The Commanders’ defense also had a stellar performance against Houston, including a pick-six from Kendall Fuller and an interception from Darrick Forrest. Washington also had five sacks and held the Texans to an average of 2.7 yards a play.

Washington’s defensive line figures to get even better with the return of Chase Young when they host the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday. 

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