TAMPA, Fla. — The ball bounced right and, for a split second, it appeared. Washington Commanders will once again face something they’ve known for years: heartbreak. But, in the 2024 season, the Commanders have exorcised one ghost after another.
And, so, the ball did just what it was supposed to do this season: it ricocheted over the crossbar. Last second win 23-20 On top of Tampa Bay Buccaneers Sunday night in the wild card round game.
Thus continues a magical season for the Commanders (13-5), who face the NFC’s top seed. Detroit LinesSaturday night at 8 p.m. Zane GonzalezK’s 37-yard field goal gave Washington its first playoff win since January 7, 2006, following the 2005 regular season.
Cook gave a wink of unnecessary worry.
“I felt like I was in a Bounty commercial where the cup expands and it’s like, ‘nooooo,'” Washington coach Dan Quinn said. “As it was going through, I paused and maybe skipped a beat, but that’s where the passion was.”
But this has been the new normal for Washington. The Commanders have won six straight games – the last five coming on the final play or from the last play from scrimmage. Those six wins are two more than Washington had in 2023 and its 13 wins more than the previous two seasons combined.
The Commanders had not won 11 games in a regular season since 1991. Sunday night provided just the fourth playoff win since winning the Super Bowl following the 1991 season. And it’s just their third playoff victory in the last 26 years.
“It’s a really tight-knit team,” Quinn said. “They believe in each other and you have to have a relationship to have that belief.
“We don’t really waver when those moments come,” Washington guard Sam Kasmi. said. “Some teams can break up, but we don’t.”
As always, a key driver was the rookie quarterback. Jaden Danielswho completed 24 of 35 passes for 268 yards and 2 touchdowns in his first playoff start — coming to the same stadium where Washington opened the season with a 37-20 loss.
Daniels coolly drove Washington down the field in the final 4 minutes, 41 seconds after Tampa tied the score at 20-20 with a 32-yard field goal. Daniels completed all three of his passes for 44 yards and, on third-and-2, he ran around right end to keeper for 4 yards with 55 seconds left, ensuring the Commanders would run out the clock. .
No one was surprised by Daniels’ performance in the final minutes.
“He’s done it all year,” Commanders linebacker Bobby Wagner said.
Not that Daniels remembers much about the final moments. He was asked what he told the backup quarterback Marcus Mariota Couldn’t miss any more during the break at the two-minute warning. Daniels couldn’t recall his emotions when he saw the kick bounce over the top.
“I don’t know, I don’t think I even smiled,” he said. “You just kind of get that zone.”
Washington players and coaches have noted Daniels’ ability to remain composed no matter the situation. Daniels led five game-winning drives, two that ended in last-second field goals and three others in which he threw a touchdown pass from scrimmage on the final play.
“If his heart rate monitor was on, and mine, they wouldn’t be the same in the game,” Quinn said. “He’s pretty consistently good and sometimes I’m like a duck: if you just see the foot go under the water, that’s good. But he’s really exceptional in this space.”
Outside the locker room, Washington’s new ownership group and their families celebrated. Managing partner Josh Harris hugged his children and other family members and acquaintances. He embraced Magic Johnson, one of the team’s several minority shareholders. Before the receiver Terry McLaren Heading toward the interview room, he stopped to hug Johnson as well.
“That’s what we were talking about!” Johnson said, wrapping his arm around McLaurin.
Harris bought the team in July 2023, but the organization has undergone a radical change — most notably with the hiring of general manager Adam Peters, Quinn and the drafting of Daniels last year.
The demons of the past — the investigation of former owner Dan Snyder and his controversial tenure that included two playoff wins in 24 years — are buried deeper in the fan’s mind.
“This team, this organization, we’ve all been through it,” McLaren said. “So, to be on the other side and get some of the fruits of your labor is incredible.”
There was just the right bounce to bring that passion. But while Bucks fans in the stadium had a brief glimmer of hope, the Commanders knew the ball could only roll one way.
“Honestly,” Commanders defensive tackle Jon Allen said, “I’m not surprised. Right now, the way everything is going, we train for those moments. We’ve been in those moments all season. are.”