2023 Washington Commanders season | |
---|---|
Owner | Josh Harris |
President | Jason Wright |
General manager | Martin Mayhew |
Head coach | Ron Rivera |
Offensive coordinator | Eric Bieniemy |
Defensive coordinator |
|
Home field | FedExField |
Local radio | WBIG-FM (Big 100) |
Results | |
Record | 4–13 |
Division place | 4th NFC East |
Playoff finish | Did not qualify |
Uniform | |
The 2023 season was the Washington Commanders' 92nd season in the National Football League (NFL) and their fourth and final under head coach Ron Rivera. It was the first season under owner Josh Harris, who led a group in the offseason that bought the franchise from Daniel Snyder for $6.05 billion.
The team replaced offensive coordinator Scott Turner, who joined the team in 2020, with former Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy, who was also named assistant head coach.[1] Defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio and defensive backs coach Brent Vieselmeyer were fired following a loss to the Dallas Cowboys on Thanksgiving.[2] The team failed to improve or match their 8–8–1 record after a Week 13 loss to the Miami Dolphins. Despite starting off with a 2–0 record, the Commanders sputtered down the line, going 2–13 the rest of the way, including finishing off their season with a devastating eight-game losing streak to be eliminated from playoff contention for the third consecutive year as well as finish with a non-winning record for the seventh consecutive season. On January 8, Commanders managing partner Josh Harris officially announced that the organization had parted ways with head coach Ron Rivera.[3]
With the Detroit Lions defeating the Los Angeles Rams in the Wild Card round of the playoffs, the Commanders now hold the longest active playoff win drought in the NFC and third-longest in the NFL (behind the Miami Dolphins and Las Vegas Raiders), not having won such a game since 2005. With the Lions winning their NFC Divisional round game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers the following week, Washington alone now holds the longest conference championship appearance drought in the NFC; both Detroit and Washington had last appeared in the 1991 NFC Championship Game.[4]
Daniel Snyder, whose ownership of the franchise had been mired in controversy amid a lack of on-field success since buying the franchise in 1999, sold the team to a group headed by Josh Harris, co-founder of Apollo Global Management and owner of the NBA's Philadelphia 76ers and NHL's New Jersey Devils, for $6.05 billion.[5] The group has 20 limited partners worth a combined $100 billion, the most in the NFL, which includes Danaher and Glenstone founder Mitchell Rales, basketball hall of famer Magic Johnson, 76ers and Devils co-owner David Blitzer, Washington Kastles owner Mark Ein, Maverick Capital founder Lee Ainslie, Los Angeles Sparks managing partner Eric Holoman, Blue Owl Capital founders Marc Lipschultz and Doug Ostrover, the Santo Domingo Group headed by Alejandro Santo Domingo, ProShares founder Michael Sapir, former Google CEO Eric Schmidt, and Cambridge Information Group CEO Andy Snyder.[6][7] The deal was the highest price ever paid for a sports team and was unanimously approved by the NFL on July 20, 2023.[8][5]
Main article: 2023 NFL Draft |
Round | Selection | Player | Position | College | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 16 | Emmanuel Forbes | CB | Mississippi State | |
2 | 47 | Jartavius Martin | CB | Illinois | |
3 | 79 | Traded to the Indianapolis Colts[A] | |||
97 | Ricky Stromberg | C | Arkansas | Compensatory pick | |
4 | 118 | Braeden Daniels | OT | Utah | |
5 | 137 | KJ Henry | DE | Clemson | From Buffalo[B] |
150 | Traded to the Buffalo Bills[B] | ||||
6 | 193 | Chris Rodriguez Jr. | RB | Kentucky | |
215 | Traded to the Buffalo Bills[B] | Compensatory pick | |||
7 | 233 | Andre Jones Jr. | DE | Louisiana |
Draft trades
Name | Position | College | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|
Kazmeir Allen | WR | UCLA | [11] |
Zion Bowens | WR | Hawaii | |
Mason Brooks | OL | Ole Miss | |
Tim DeMorat | QB | Fordham | |
Xavier Henderson | S | Michigan State | |
Joshua Pryor | DE | Bowie State | |
Jalen Sample | WR | Minnesota State | |
Kendall Smith | S | Illinois | |
DJ Stirgus | CB | Missouri Western | |
Mitchell Tinsley | WR | Penn State | |
Brycen Tremayne | WR | Stanford | |
Nick Whiteside | CB | Saginaw Valley State |
Ownership
Front office
Head coaches
Offensive coaches
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Defensive coaches
Special teams coaches
Strength and conditioning
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Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Recap |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | August 11 | at Cleveland Browns | W 17–15 | 1–0 | Cleveland Browns Stadium | Recap |
2 | August 21 | Baltimore Ravens | W 29–28 | 2–0 | FedExField | Recap |
3 | August 26 | Cincinnati Bengals | W 21–19 | 3–0 | FedExField | Recap |
Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Recap |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | September 10 | Arizona Cardinals | W 20–16 | 1–0 | FedExField | Recap |
2 | September 17 | at Denver Broncos | W 35–33 | 2–0 | Empower Field at Mile High | Recap |
3 | September 24 | Buffalo Bills | L 3–37 | 2–1 | FedExField | Recap |
4 | October 1 | at Philadelphia Eagles | L 31–34 (OT) | 2–2 | Lincoln Financial Field | Recap |
5 | October 5 | Chicago Bears | L 20–40 | 2–3 | FedExField | Recap |
6 | October 15 | at Atlanta Falcons | W 24–16 | 3–3 | Mercedes-Benz Stadium | Recap |
7 | October 22 | at New York Giants | L 7–14 | 3–4 | MetLife Stadium | Recap |
8 | October 29 | Philadelphia Eagles | L 31–38 | 3–5 | FedExField | Recap |
9 | November 5 | at New England Patriots | W 20–17 | 4–5 | Gillette Stadium | Recap |
10 | November 12 | at Seattle Seahawks | L 26–29 | 4–6 | Lumen Field | Recap |
11 | November 19 | New York Giants | L 19–31 | 4–7 | FedExField | Recap |
12 | November 23 | at Dallas Cowboys | L 10–45 | 4–8 | AT&T Stadium | Recap |
13 | December 3 | Miami Dolphins | L 15–45 | 4–9 | FedExField | Recap |
14 | Bye | |||||
15 | December 17 | at Los Angeles Rams | L 20–28 | 4–10 | SoFi Stadium | Recap |
16 | December 24 | at New York Jets | L 28–30 | 4–11 | MetLife Stadium | Recap |
17 | December 31 | San Francisco 49ers | L 10–27 | 4–12 | FedExField | Recap |
18 | January 7 | Dallas Cowboys | L 10–38 | 4–13 | FedExField | Recap |
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.
Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Cardinals | 3 | 10 | 3 | 0 | 16 |
Commanders | 7 | 3 | 0 | 10 | 20 |
at FedExField, Landover, Maryland
Game information | ||
---|---|---|
|
Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Commanders | 3 | 11 | 7 | 14 | 35 |
Broncos | 14 | 7 | 3 | 9 | 33 |
at Empower Field at Mile High, Denver, Colorado
Game information | ||
---|---|---|
|
Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Bills | 10 | 6 | 0 | 21 | 37 |
Commanders | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 |
at FedExField, Landover, Maryland
Game information | ||
---|---|---|
|
Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | OT | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Commanders | 7 | 10 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 31 |
Eagles | 7 | 3 | 11 | 10 | 3 | 34 |
at Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Game information | ||
---|---|---|
|
Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Bears | 10 | 17 | 0 | 13 | 40 |
Commanders | 0 | 3 | 11 | 6 | 20 |
at FedExField, Landover, Maryland
Game information | ||
---|---|---|
|
Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Commanders | 3 | 14 | 7 | 0 | 24 |
Falcons | 7 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 16 |
at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta, Georgia
Game information | ||
---|---|---|
|
Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Commanders | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 |
Giants | 0 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 14 |
at MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey
Game information | ||
---|---|---|
|
Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Eagles | 3 | 7 | 7 | 21 | 38 |
Commanders | 7 | 10 | 0 | 14 | 31 |
at FedExField, Landover, Maryland
Game information | ||
---|---|---|
|
Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Commanders | 3 | 7 | 10 | 0 | 20 |
Patriots | 0 | 14 | 3 | 0 | 17 |
at Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, Massachusetts
Game information | ||
---|---|---|
|
Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Commanders | 6 | 3 | 3 | 14 | 26 |
Seahawks | 3 | 6 | 7 | 13 | 29 |
at Lumen Field, Seattle, Washington
Game information | ||
---|---|---|
|
Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Giants | 7 | 7 | 0 | 17 | 31 |
Commanders | 3 | 6 | 3 | 7 | 19 |
at FedExField, Landover, Maryland
Game information | ||
---|---|---|
|
The Commanders' offense committed six turnovers throughout the game. With a chance to win the game, Isaiah Simmons intercepted Sam Howell for a touchdown that put the game away. The Commanders fall to 4–7.
Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Commanders | 0 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
Cowboys | 7 | 13 | 0 | 25 | 45 |
at AT&T Stadium, Arlington, Texas
Game information | ||
---|---|---|
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With the blowout loss, the Commanders were eliminated from NFC East contention. After the game, the team fired defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio and defensive backs coach Brent Vieselmeyer.
Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Dolphins | 17 | 14 | 7 | 7 | 45 |
Commanders | 0 | 7 | 8 | 0 | 15 |
at FedExField, Landover, Maryland
Game information | ||
---|---|---|
|
Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Commanders | 0 | 0 | 7 | 13 | 20 |
Rams | 3 | 10 | 7 | 8 | 28 |
at SoFi Stadium, Inglewood, California
Game information | ||
---|---|---|
|
Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Commanders | 0 | 7 | 7 | 14 | 28 |
Jets | 17 | 10 | 0 | 3 | 30 |
at MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey
Game information | ||
---|---|---|
|
Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
49ers | 10 | 3 | 7 | 7 | 27 |
Commanders | 0 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
at FedExField, Landover, Maryland
Game information | ||
---|---|---|
|
Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Cowboys | 7 | 14 | 14 | 3 | 38 |
Commanders | 0 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
at FedExField, Landover, Maryland
Game information | ||
---|---|---|
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NFC East | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | STK | |
(2) Dallas Cowboys | 12 | 5 | 0 | .706 | 5–1 | 9–3 | 509 | 315 | W2 |
(5) Philadelphia Eagles | 11 | 6 | 0 | .647 | 4–2 | 7–5 | 433 | 428 | L2 |
New York Giants | 6 | 11 | 0 | .353 | 3–3 | 5–7 | 266 | 407 | W1 |
Washington Commanders | 4 | 13 | 0 | .235 | 0–6 | 2–10 | 329 | 518 | L8 |
# | Team | Division | W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | SOS | SOV | STK |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Division leaders | |||||||||||
1[a] | San Francisco 49ers | West | 12 | 5 | 0 | .706 | 5–1 | 10–2 | .509 | .475 | L1 |
2[a][b] | Dallas Cowboys | East | 12 | 5 | 0 | .706 | 5–1 | 9–3 | .446 | .392 | W2 |
3[a][b] | Detroit Lions | North | 12 | 5 | 0 | .706 | 4–2 | 8–4 | .481 | .436 | W1F |
4[c] | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | South | 9 | 8 | 0 | .529 | 4–2 | 7–5 | .481 | .379 | W1 |
Wild cards | |||||||||||
5 | Philadelphia Eagles | East | 11 | 6 | 0 | .647 | 4–2 | 7–5 | .481 | .476 | L2 |
6 | Los Angeles Rams | West | 10 | 7 | 0 | .588 | 5–1 | 8–4 | .529 | .453 | W4 |
7[d][e] | Green Bay Packers | North | 9 | 8 | 0 | .529 | 4–2 | 7–5 | .474 | .458 | W3 |
Did not qualify for the postseason | |||||||||||
8[d][e] | Seattle Seahawks | West | 9 | 8 | 0 | .529 | 2–4 | 7–5 | .512 | .392 | W1 |
9[c][d] | New Orleans Saints | South | 9 | 8 | 0 | .529 | 4–2 | 6–6 | .433 | .340 | W2 |
10[f][g] | Minnesota Vikings | North | 7 | 10 | 0 | .412 | 2–4 | 6–6 | .509 | .454 | L4 |
11[g][h] | Chicago Bears | North | 7 | 10 | 0 | .412 | 2–4 | 6–6 | .464 | .370 | L1 |
12[f][h] | Atlanta Falcons | South | 7 | 10 | 0 | .412 | 3–3 | 4–8 | .429 | .462 | L2 |
13 | New York Giants | East | 6 | 11 | 0 | .353 | 3–3 | 5–7 | .512 | .353 | W1 |
14[i] | Washington Commanders | East | 4 | 13 | 0 | .235 | 0–6 | 2–10 | .512 | .338 | L8 |
15[i] | Arizona Cardinals | West | 4 | 13 | 0 | .235 | 0–6 | 3–9 | .561 | .588 | L1 |
16 | Carolina Panthers | South | 2 | 15 | 0 | .118 | 1–5 | 1–11 | .522 | .500 | L3 |
Tiebreakers[j] | |||||||||||
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