Commanders rumors: Kliff Kingsbury thrown under bus for defense stinking it up last season

The Washington Commanders are currently gearing up for the 2026 NFL season, which is slated to begin in early September. The Commanders are hoping to bounce back after a rough 2025 campaign, which saw them miss the playoffs altogether on the heels of their 2024 run to the NFC Championship Game.

This offseason, the Commanders have made several key changes, including firing offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury and bringing in David Blough to replace him, as well as hiring Daronte Jones as their new defensive coordinator.

Recently, the John Kleim of ESPN reported on how the team somehow found a way to throw Kingsbury under the bus for Washington’s struggles on defense last year.

“Some team sources said they believed the defense was hurt last season by practicing against an offense that was atypical, with fewer motions and shifts. The Commanders struggled against teams early in the season in particular when facing offenses that featured a lot of pre-snap movement,” reported Kleim on ESPN.

While that may at least partially explain some of Washington’s defensive struggles, an NFL team should, in theory, be able to game plan for teams that play different styles than the offense of their own squad.

Still, overall, both sides of the ball took major steps back for the Commanders in 2025, with star quarterback Jayden Daniels and several other key players finding themselves unable to stay on the field consistently, and the team also not being able to pull off some of the thrilling last-second finishes that went their way in the 2025 season.

The Commanders are set to kick off their 2026 campaign with a tough road game against the Philadelphia Eagles on September 13.

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