After nineteen years without winning a playoff game, the Washington Commanders have finally done it, officially putting an end to one of the longest droughts in the NFL.
January 7, 2006 was the last time Washington won a playoff game, since then they have only had four winning seasons and four playoff appearances, losing in the first round in each of them.
Something changed in 2024 though: the Commanders not only made the playoffs for the fifth time since 2005, but they had a record of 12-5, their best since the Super Bowl winning season in 1991. After making the playoffs as a Wild Card team they finally did what they haven’t done since 2006, they beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the first round of the NFL playoffs.
To get to where they are now the Commanders had to have one of the quickest turnarounds in NFL history, and it started in July of 2023 when longtime hated owner, Dan Snyder, finally sold the team to Josh Harris. Josh Harris coming in and Dan Snyder going out brought newfound hope that Commanders fans hadn’t felt in over a decade. When the 2023 season started you could see the difference in atmosphere at the stadium with the Commanders selling out tickets in week one against the Arizona Cardinals. The excitement however, didn’t last long in 2023 as the Commanders would finish with a record of 4-13, their worst since 2019.
Following a let down season in 2023, Washington fired their general manager, head coach, offensive coordinator and defensive coordinator. They then hired the 49ers’ assistant general manager Adam Peters, as their general manager, the Cowboys’ defensive coordinator Dan Quin as head coach, the Cowboys’ cornerbacks coach Joe Whitt Jr. as defensive coordinator, and former Arizona Cardinals head coach Kliff Kingsbury as their new offensive coordinator. Washington made a ton of moves in free agency, completely transforming the team. Some key signings were: linebacker Bobby Wagner, linebacker Frankie Luvu, edge rusher Dante Fowler, safety Jeremy Chinn, center Tyler Biadasz, guard Nick Algeretti and wide receiver Olamide Zaccheaus. As a result of Washington’s poor record in 2023 they received the second overall pick in the draft and had a good all around draft class taking impact players, defensive tackle Jer’Zhan Newton and cornerback Mike Sainristil in the second round and left tackle Brandon Coleman in the third round.
However, the most important player added to the roster was second overall pick Jayden Daniels, who has had a historic rookie season. Daniels set the records for the best single game completion percentage by a rookie (91%), most touchdowns in the last thirty seconds of regulation or overtime (5), single season rushing yards by a rookie quarterback (891), and most points per game by an offense with a rookie quarterback (28.5). But beyond the numbers what stands out the most is Daniels’ poise and ability to stay calm in big moments and games, something rarely seen in rookie and even much more experienced quarterbacks. At the end of the season when the Commanders needed wins the most, he led two game winning drives in consecutives weeks to clinch a playoff spot. Then, at the end of the Wild Card game Daniels orchestrated a ten play, four minute forty-one second drive that ended in a game winning field goal, making Daniels the first rookie quarterback to win a road playoff game since 2012.
Even with all the moves Washington made, expectations were still very low going into the 2024 regular season, with their projected win total for the year being set at 6.5. The Commanders did not start the season off how they wanted, getting blown out in week one, but then went on to win seven of their next eight games, surpassing their projected wins in only nine weeks. Their 7-2 record was the first time they’ve won at least seven of their first nine games since 1996. After an amazing first half of the season Washington was in a great spot to try and win the division but gave up control to the Eagles when they lost three straight games going from 7-2 to 7-5. Sitting at 7-5 they had all but no chance of winning the division but still had a good chance to make the playoffs if they could get back on track. Which is exactly what they did, winning all of their last five regular season games and finishing with a record of 12-5. The last four wins of the Commanders five game winning streak were all won on the last play from scrimmage, which added to a season filled with dramatic finishes.
To start the playoffs, Washington would be traveling to Tampa Bay to face the Buccaneers who gave The Commanders their worst loss of their season all the way back in week one. Washington though, looked like and was playing like a completely different team than what the Buccaneers saw in their first matchup, but Tampa Bay was still favored to win leading up to the game. The game was an exciting back and forth battle with both teams holding multiple leads throughout. True to form, the Commanders would win 23-20 on the last play with Kicker Zane Gonzales knocking the go ahead field goal off the right upright and in as time expired.