The Washington Commanders' storybook 2024 season was enough to earn respect from the national media. For the most part, at least.
People from outside of D.C. were saying positive things about the Commanders. Washington had the darling rookie sensation quarterback. The home-run head coaching hire. From the top down, new people in new positions were paying major dividends. Everybody wanted to see good things happen to this long-suffering franchise.
Then, there was Adam Rank. While the rest of the football world was on board the hype train, the NFL.com analyst and unapologetic Chicago Bears fan was picking against the Commanders seemingly every week.