Can the Washington Commanders (4-10) snap a five-game losing streak on Sunday vs. the New York Jets (5-9)?
The winner of this game will actually be the loser in terms of the 2024 NFL draft. Washington currently holds the No. 4 overall pick, with the Jets right behind at No. 5. With San Francisco and Dallas on the schedule for the next two weeks, this is the Commanders’ last chance at a win this season.
Which Sam Howell will we see for Washington? He’s shown impressive resiliency this season, but Sunday’s game is a tough test because the Jets are terrific on defense.
Meanwhile, the Commanders’ terrible defense could be a get-right game for New York’s 32nd-ranked offense on its fourth quarterback of the season.
Who wins?
Our staff picks winners for Week 16.
Bryan Manning
Whether it was Zach Wilson or Trevor Siemian, Washington had a chance to win this game. Both quarterbacks stink. But what’s even more concerning is that the Commanders are so bad on defense that either quarterback could have a strong game on Sunday. Siemian will have his shot, and his No. 1 goal should be to get the ball in Garrett Wilson’s hands 10 times or more. Washington can’t cover anyone, so I wouldn’t doubt if Wilson has a terrific game on Sunday.
I think the game is close, but there is no way I can go with the Commanders, seeing how bad they’ve looked in every phase over the last five weeks.
Jets 17, Commanders 14
Ivan Lambert
The 4-10 Commanders at the 5-9 Jets is not likely to wake up fans of either team early on Sunday morning in excited anticipation of this game. Both teams have struggled mightily. The Commanders have lost 10 of their last 12 games, the defense letting the team down repeatedly throughout the season.
In the last four games, the offense has joined the defense in struggling as well, as the Commanders have not been competitive since the walk-off field goal loss at Seattle.
The Commanders offensive line better strap up their helmets up securely and get off to a good start, or the Jets defensive front could set a very frustrating and demoralizing tone for the Commanders.
If the game is close, the Jets have the better kicker in Greg Zuerlein. He has been on top of the league this year, not missing a field goal under 50 yards all season. Zuerlein has been successful on 27 of his 28 field goal attempts for a 96.4 percent rate.
Jets 16, Commanders 13
Sammy Mansfield
This week’s matchup at MetLife Stadium has all the makings of a Christmas Eve snoozefest as Washington heads into New York with their 32nd-ranked defense to face off against the Jet’s NFL-worst offense. Both teams are spiraling as the Commanders have lost five straight and the Jets have dropped six of their past seven.
This game will come down to whether or not the Commanders’ defense can take advantage of a Jets team that has scored just 13 touchdowns on offense in 14 games. New York has talented young skill players in Garrett Wilson and Breece Hall but will be starting their fourth different quarterback of the season, Trevor Siemian.
At this point, Washington should be looking ahead to the future and jockeying for the highest possible pick in next year’s draft. With that said, I believe the Commanders pull off the “upset” today and end their five-game skid, draft placement be damned.
Commanders 21, Jets 17
