We have finally arrived at Week 1 of the 2026 season. It might have felt like a slow crawl at times, but we are just days away from getting our first real look at the Washington Commanders' roster in the third year of the Dan Quinn era. The first matchup is against the Philadelphia Eagles, which is certainly a difficult opponent for a season opener, but the team is confident in the talent they have on the field, and it's an opportunity to see how they stack up against the defending division champs.

Let's dive into what Commanders fans want to know this week.

@JustUrAvgFlyGuy: I have sooooooooo many questions 🤔

1. Will our run defense stuff Saquon 
2. Will our front 7 wreak havoc & force turnovers & get sacks 
3. Will our OL open up running lanes 
4. Will our OL allow Jayden to air it out? 
5. How much do we win by???

Okay, so let's break these down one at a time.

1) I think it's hard to say that any team will stuff Saquon Barkley. Although the 2025 season was a step back from his 2,000-yard campaign in 2024, he has been one of the most dominant running backs over the last two seasons.

I am curious about a few different factors here. How does Barkley adapt to running more outside zone plays, which I've heard Philadelphia could use more of in its new offense? I want to know how the Eagles' offensive line adapts to having a new position coach. Yes, they're going to be good, but will there be an adaptation phase with new blocking schemes? And assuming K'Lavon Chaisson and Odafe Oweh play, can their speed and athleticism negate some of Barkley's explosiveness? I certainly think that's a possibility, but it's hard to guarantee anything against Barkley.

2) Daronte Jones comes from a system that thrives on creating chaos at the line of scrimmage, which hopefully leads to more turnovers. Now, Philadelphia is one of the hardest teams to force turnovers against. They had just 15 giveaways last season, and for all Jalen Hurts' other issues as a passer, he's good at protecting the ball. I think the best way for them to wreak havoc is by forcing Hurts to get rid of the ball quickly and make bad decisions. That might not lead to turnovers, but it could disrupt the Eagles' flow on offense, which can be just as effective.

3) That's going to be one of the biggest questions of the weekend. The Commanders are going to try and run the football. It's one of the ways they want to take some of the pressure off Jayden Daniels' shoulders. It's possible for them to have success, but it's going to be ugly. That's more about the Eagles' front than the state of the Commanders' offensive line. Jalen Carter and Jordan Davis are a formidable duo that will give most offensive lines trouble. So, to answer your question, yes, but they will need to stick with it. Even on a good day, finding room against the Eagles is difficult.

4) I think this will depend more on David Blough and the scheme. That's not to say the offensive line will be a nonfactor, but I feel like the best way to give Daniels a chance to use his arm is to get him running away from pressure with bootlegs and other play-action passes. We also need to see Terry McLaurin and Stefon Diggs win downfield.

5) Predictions are so tough, especially for Week 1, but I will say that I believe Washington has a good chance to surprise some people in Philadelphia.

@ECFoisie: What are the signs for fans to know that Washington's run defense has improved or is it just about having faith in Daronte Jones and Eric Henderson? Getting ready to face Saquon Barkley, my thoughts continually go there.

I think there are two factors at play here that kind of work hand-in-hand.

The first has to do with gap integrity. Not to harp on last season, but it was clear that there needed to be changes in that area based on how much the Commanders gave up on the ground. That starts with the middle, where they have more depth with players like Tim Settle who can stuff the interior and prevent offensive linemen from moving to the second level. You're also relying on players like Daron Payne and Javon Kinlaw to use their size and physicality to keep offensive tackles from covering up the interior linebackers. This is going to be a linebacker-driven defense, so if players like Frankie Luvu, Leo Chenal and Sonny Styles are racking up tackles, you'll know that the defensive line is doing its job.

The second is all about setting the edge. I talked about this in an earlier question, but I think the ability to contain outside zone plays is going to be key against the Eagles this weekend. Theoretically, Oweh and Chaisson are equipped to do this. They are freak athletes who should be able to match Barkley in speed. As Commanders fans know, defenders being unable to play sideline-to-sideline was a problem for the defense last year, so if you see those outside zone plays getting strung out to the sideline, that's a clear sign that there is a schematic improvement.

@ECFoisie: How resilient & good at winning turnover margin will Washington be this season? Seattle overcame losing their starting QB in 1st quarter & 50 more penalty yards by winning turnover margin 3-0 to sneak out a win. Under DQ & Whitt Jr., "ball is life" insufficiently gained traction.

Based on how Brian Flores' scheme works with the Minnesota Vikings, I would say the Commanders are going to be quite resilient at trying to win the turnover margin. As you mentioned, you saw how important that is in winning football games at this level. And, for what it's worth, we saw a lot of that from the Commanders in the preseason (yes, I know that doesn't matter, but I would rather see turnovers in any game than not at all. It's a good sign that the system can do what Jones believes it can accomplish). As to how good they'll be at it, we'll just have to wait and see. I think the components are there. Pressure leads to poor decision making from offenses, and they have the players to generate that kind of pressure. The pass rush is the key here. If that can live up to expectations, then I think we'll see a lot more turnovers compared to last season.