The Washington Commanders aren’t supposed to be here.
A new general manager, a new coach and a rookie quarterback aren’t supposed to be on the doorstep of the Super Bowl.
Especially this team.
This season was expected to be the beginning of the rebuild of a once-proud franchise shedding years of turmoil under its disgraced former owner.
Josh Harris entered his second season as the Commanders’ new owner with one fresh face in the executive suite in GM Adam Peters, another on the sidelines in Dan Quinn and a third under center in Heisman winner and No. 2 draft pick Jayden Daniels.
Coming off a 4-13 finish—its seventh straight non-winning season—Washington’s bar for improvement was low.
But nobody thought this year’s Commanders would soar this high.
Daniels led Washington to its fifth win before Halloween. The Commanders later notched their first 7-2 start since 1996, then weathered a three-game skid to secure their first playoff berth in four years and first winning season in eight.
Already worthy of a storybook season, but Quinn, Daniels and company have proven they have plenty more ink.
They first authored a last-second win at Tampa Bay in the wild-card round, then followed with a blowout victory against top-seeded Detroit in the divisional.
Now comes a third battle against division rival Philadelphia, which, on paper, should not lose Sunday’s NFC Championship Game.
But this Washington team has defied expectations all season. That’s why the Commanders are not only going to beat the Eagles, but also whichever AFC team advances to face them in the Super Bowl on Feb. 9 in New Orleans.
Let’s dive deeper into how Washington will win its first world championship since 1992, starting with Sunday’s game in Philadelphia.
A lock for Rookie of the Year, the 24-year-old Daniels has showcased elite poise while helping his long-suffering franchise stack some of its biggest wins in decades.
He completed 69 percent of his passes during the regular season and has been just as sharp in his first two playoff games, hitting 69.7 percent of his throws for 567 yards and four touchdowns with no turnovers.
Daniels will need to be just as proficient Sunday to help the Commanders keep pace with an Eagles offense that will have no issue running the ball against Washington.
Philadelphia racked up 228 and 211 yards on the ground in its two regular-season meetings with the Commanders, with Saquon Barkley accounting for 296 of those yards and four rushing touchdowns.
Barkley has run for 324 more yards during these playoffs, and Jalen Hurts’ knee injury gives the Eagles even more reason to feed their star running back on Sunday.
Philadelphia will score plenty, but Washington has proven it can outrun its division foe in a track meet. Daniels tossed a season-high five touchdowns in the teams’ Week 16 contest, including the game-winner to clinch the Commanders’ 36-33 victory.
Even as the Eagles shred his team’s run defense Sunday, Daniels will conjure another dazzling performance against Philadelphia’s top-ranked defense to lead Washington to the Superdome.
The formula should stay the same for the Commanders if they meet the Buffalo Bills in the Big Easy.
Buffalo also boasts a solid run game behind running back James Cook and quarterback Josh Allen, who led the Bills’ ninth-ranked rushing offense during the regular season.
Buffalo overcame a pair of top-three run defenses in Denver and Baltimore to advance to the AFC Championship, and the Bills would have rolled through Kansas City’s eighth-ranked unit to eliminate the two-time defending champions.
Cook and Allen will each have their share of explosive carries against Washington, but Daniels will sprinkle in a few big runs against a Buffalo defense that has allowed 8.2 yards per rush against quarterbacks in the playoffs so far.
Assuming Daniels plays turnover-free, the Commanders will squeeze past the Bills in a tight game decided largely by Daniels’ dual-threat ability.
If Washington ends up preventing the Chiefs’ bid for the league’s first-ever three-peat instead, it’ll do so by beating Kansas City at its own game.
The Chiefs have thrived in close contests, with 11 of their 16 wins through the divisional round being decided by one possession.
It’s not a tangible stat, but Kansas City is unquestionably the most calm and collected team in the league when the pressure peaks. We’ve all watched Patrick Mahomes and Andy Reid win enough nail-biters to substantiate that.
The Chiefs will find themselves in another close one against the Commanders, but Washington will remain steady and play its best when it matters most.
It’s how the Commanders started their postseason run, after all.
Washington had just a 28.4 percent win probability when it trailed Tampa Bay by four points in the fourth quarter. A key takeaway led to the Commanders’ go-ahead touchdown, and Daniels responded to the Buccaneers’ tying field goal by leading his team 51 yards to the game-winning kick as time expired.
Washington will again have the ball last against Kansas City, setting the stage for one final magical drive from Daniels to wash away decades of football futility in the nation’s capital.
