ASHBURN, VA (WTKR)- For the first time since 1991, the Commanders wrapped up a regular season with 12 wins. Now they'll hope that success will translate into the postseason.
Washington enters the playoffs as the No. 6 seed in the NFC and will meet the Buccaneers on Sunday in the wild card round, a rematch of the season opener that saw Tampa Bay top the Commanders, 37-20. However, the 17 point gap in score was not indicative of how the rest of Dan Quinn's first season in the burgundy and gold would go.
"We like crazy," Quinn said during his weekly Monday Zoom availability. "It does serve you well in moments that come up and I think over the last month, our games have come down to the end."
Of Washington's 12 victories, eight of them have come by one score or less, with five of the Commanders' game-winning tallies coming with no more than six seconds remaining on the clock, including their final three regular season contests. In addition, 12 of the team's 17 games were decided by one score or less.
"On that sideline, when you're there, there's not a panic about it, there's not anything other than real belief that we're going to go make the next play to do the next thing," the head coach noted. "That is a strong thing that I couldn't have scripted any more for our team."
The Commanders' first taste of how many of their games would eventually shape up came in their home opener against the Giants in week two, when Austin Seibert booted home the game-winning field goal as time expired in a 21-18 victory. It was Seibert's seventh field goal of the contest. Six weeks later, the now well-documented Hail Mary to beat the Bears occurred, when Jayden Daniels heaved a prayer that was tipped into the waiting arms of Noah Brown in the endzone.
Washington continued to make plays in crunch-time during the most crucial moments and that was never more evident than the final three weeks of the campaign. Daniels found Jamison Crowder for the game-winning touchdown with six seconds left in the squad's 36-33 win over the Eagles on December 22. The following week, Daniels connected with Zach Ertz for the walk-off score in overtime to beat the Falcons, 30-24. That all led up to the most recent triumph, a Marcus Mariota five yard strike to Terry McLaurin with two seconds remaining, giving the Commanders a 23-19 victory over the Cowboys.
"To be in those kind of fights, it is really important," pointed out Quinn. "If you aren't in any, and you get to them, you'll feel tight. You would and so we've been in a lot of wild moments and I think those are the things that can serve you well, because those moments, they are 100 percent coming up here in the postseason.
Tampa Bay finished the regular season 10-7 and locked up the NFC South championship with a 27-19 win over the Saints. The Buccaneers played in eight one-score games in 2024, winning three of them. Their most impressive victory came in week two with a 20-16 win over the Lions, one of just two defeats Detroit would suffer all season on its way to the NFC's No. 1 seed.
The burgundy and gold now returns to Raymond James Stadium, looking to avenge that season-opening setback. The Commanders are looking for the franchise's first win in a postseason game since January of 2006, a 17-10 triumph over these same Buccaneers. Tampa Bay is also the opponent Washington faced during its last playoff appearance during the 2020 season, falling to the Tom Brady-led Bucs. How will the latest match-up fare? We'll find out Sunday, but Quinn says it's OK if his team wants to win by a more comfortable margin this time around.
"Just because we can does not mean we have to do this," laughed Quinn when speaking of the close calls this season. "But I do love that there's a confidence with the group."
The Commanders and Buccaneers meet Sunday at 8:00 PM. News 3 is making the trip to cover Washington in the postseason, so go along with us to get an inside look at the burgundy and gold.
