There were a bunch of new sheriffs in town, owners, general manager, coach and most important of all, a franchise quarterback.
That is the method for success, with an emphasis on the signal caller that the Commanders rode to a playoff win after nearly two decades of being bottom feeders and the laughingstock of the league. Add another accolade to Jayden Daniels’ sterling resume from his historic debut season.
The rookie quarterback led the Washington Commanders on a drive for a last-second field goal that wrapped up a 23-20 win over Baker Mayfield and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday night in the wild-card round of the NFC playoffs, marking the first postseason win for the franchise in 19 years. The extended drought was the third-longest in the NFL, trailing only the Miami Dolphins (24 seasons) and the Las Vegas Raiders (22).
After getting the ball back with less than five minutes remaining on the clock and the game knotted at 20, Daniels and running back Austin Ekeler guided the Commanders on a 10-play, 51-yard drive to set up a 37-yard field goal by former Carolina Panthers kicker Zane Gonzalez that bounced off the upright and through for the win.
Daniels, who was a surgeon on the field, throwing for 268 yards and two touchdowns on 24-of-35 passing, became just the fourth rookie quarterback in NFL history to win his first career playoff start on the road, and the first since Russell Wilson.
“It means a lot, man,” Daniels said. “You could just see all the fans over here, man, they’re waiting for us. They’ve waited a long time for this moment and this feeling, so I’m just so happy for them.”
The immediate turnaround for the organization began when disgraced owner Daniel Snyder sold the team in 2023 to a group led by Josh Harris that includes NBA Hall of Famer Magic Johnson. They hired GM Adam Peters and coach Dan Quinn, who was defensive coordinator for the Dallas Cowboys, after their first season in control and selected Daniels with the No. 2 pick in the draft in April out of LSU.
“You gotta give Josh a lot of credit because we picked the right people,” Johnson said. “When you pick Adam Peters and you pick coach Quinn and they picked the right players, the culture changed. You went from a losing culture to a winning culture. But it’s about those players. They decided they wanted to win. They didn’t worry about what all the analysts said. And the right quarterback. Enough said right there.”
Embed from Getty ImagesWashington was the only lower seed to take care of business over the hosting team in this weekend’s five games. The Commanders will face Jarod Goff and the top-seeded Detroit Lions in the divisional round on Saturday night, with the Philadelphia Eagles set to take on the winner of Monday night’s contest between the Los Angeles Rams and Minnesota Vikings.
Daniels and Washington appeared to be between a rock and a hard place when, trailing by four, 17-13, early in the fourth quarter, the offense’s long drive was stuffed despite the unit having a first-and-goal from the Tampa Bay 1-yard line. But after linebacker Bobby Wagner recovered a fumble by Mayfield, Daniels came through on a fourth-and-2 play by finding his favorite target Terry McLaurin for a 5-yard touchdown.
“It’s disappointing because I believe in this team because we have the talent and the coaching staff to go far,” Mayfield said. “I did some dumb stuff, and it’ll wear on me for a while.”
As stated previously, Daniels, the No. 2 overall pick and overwhelming favorite for NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year was bloodied after a big hit from Buccaneers cornerback Zyon McCollum in the second quarter leaving him with a battle scar on his right cheek, but he toughed it out and remained in the game.
Commanders: One win away from the NFC championship game.
Buccaneers: Begin the offseason.
