Jayden Daniels, Dan Quinn and the Washington Commanders became the story of the NFL season with an improbable Super Bowl dream | NFL news
The Washington commanders were not supposed to be here. Not now, not yet. But with their all-time franchise quarterback found and thriving, they’re one win away from the most improbable Super Bowl performance.
The bar was low, the lowest it can be in the NFL. Task one was just to escape the gloom and grim reality of Dan Snyder’s reign as Washington continued to ease its way into a new era of ownership under Josh Harris, desperate to reset and rebrand everywhere.
They were able to accomplish both in just one year, Dan Quinn successfully betting on himself to orchestrate a culture transformation as a bold candidate ready to face the challenges ahead in Washington, and Jayden Daniels turning in one of the best rookie seasons — if not the greatest – from a quarterback in NFL history to lay the groundwork for a new chapter of not just relevance, but struggle.
Washington entered the postseason without a playoff win since the 2005 season, when they ended up losing to the Seattle Seahawks during the Divisional Round. They reached the playoffs just six times in 24 years under the ownership of Snyder, who finally sold in 2023 after allegations of sexual harassment of employees and enabling a toxic workplace.
The Commanders ranked 24th in offense and last in defense in 2023, fired head coach Ron Rivera and continued to suffer through their long-term state of quarterback purgatory. They found themselves among the least attractive destinations for any coach or player in the league, yet somehow among the destinations most rich in opportunity, such was the low floor and ‘can’t get much worse’ notion of life in Maryland, from which the only way could be worse.
They acquired Quinn after a resurgence of his coaching career in Dallas, and used the second pick in the draft on Heisman Trophy winner Daniels. With both at the helm, they catapulted the process ahead of schedule with a newfound family environment capable of overcoming adversity that might have previously derailed them, and sharing contributions between a funky ensemble of unsung assets and veteran additions.
During Wild Card weekend, they held off Baker Mayfield and the high-flying Tampa Bay Buccaneers offense thanks to a last-second field goal by Zane Gonzalez. And last weekend, he had the most exciting offense in the league and is a clear Super Bowl favorite as offensive coordinators Kliff Kingsbury and Daniels outplayed Ben Johnson and Jared Goff to eliminate the Detroit Lions, with the latter’s turnovers also playing a key role in the night.
Daniels’ dominance followed Kingsbury’s redemption in the heart of Washington’s offense. Kingsbury’s coaching skills were in desperate need of a reboot when he was fired as head coach of the Arizona Cardinals after four (including three non-playoff) seasons in 2022, on the back of which he booked a one-way ticket to Thailand to take a break from football before 2023 .spent with Caleb Williams at USC and eventually returned to the NFL to join Quinn’s staff and lead one of the league’s best offenses.
Now, I’m not sure how many The Hangover II fans there are among you, but there is a scene where Alan is meditating at the Ching Mei Monastery in Bangkok, which leads him to the next clue in their search for their lost friend Teddy. I quite enjoy the image of Kingsbury following suit, humming his way to rediscovering the answer to offensive rediscovery and renovation. Spoiler: he found it.
He had answer after answer in Saturday night’s 45-31 win over the Lions, the highlight of which was his decision to lift a 20-yard bend route to back up tight end John Bates on third-and-five, keeping the drive rolling and anything but icing the game with four minutes left. Not Terry McLaurin, not Zach Ertz, not Austin Ekeler, not Dyami Brown, not Olamide Zaccheaus – John Bates, who made just eight catches in the regular season.
Fun Fact: A quick Google search of John Bates and the first image that pops up is a character from Downtown Abbey. Kingsbury, by the way, is still being paid by the Cardinals.
‘Ohhhhh’ exclaimed an almost warped Tom Brady at the sight of a gap in the Lions defense as Dyami Brown broke free on a scissor concept, Kingsbury lined up in 12 personnel with both tight ends remaining in the backfield as bait for chip blockers before pulls into the flat and in turn dissects Detroit’s biting second level. Then came a dose of the outside zone fake as Kingsbury used a guard pull to start a screen play on the side of the field formation while McLaurin did the rest on his 58-yard catch and run. There was also aggression in Aaron Glenn’s 38-yard tackle to Brown on a deep route, Daniels produced a dime and his receiver made an incredible catch for good measure to set up Ertz’s five-yard touchdown. Kingsbury had it his way for most of the game.
The story, however, is Daniels. The coolest, sharpest offensive pilot on the block, immune to panic in the face of chaos as he glides through his progressions, manages the pocket, dunks on the league’s best teams and slaloms like the latest ice-cold killer outside the structure.
He’s the reason New York Giants general manager Joe Schoen will insist on replaying clips of his son instructing him to try to draft Daniels during an episode of Hard Knocks. He’s the reason why the already huge expectations on the shoulders of first-round pick Caleb Williams have been heightened this year, and why the Chicago Bears were desperate to hire Lions master offensive puppeteer Ben Johnson as their new head coach.
Daniels immediately set the tone for his NFL arc, winning Offensive Rookie of the Month for September while posting the highest completion percentage in a four-game hitting streak in league history.
In Week 8, he broke the Internet and the Bears as he raced back and forth for 12.79 seconds, long enough to scare Chicago’s field coverage into confusion, before throwing a Hail Mary touchdown pass that was caught by Noah Brown — in the manner of some Tyrique naiveté Stevenson. In Week 16, he laughed and joked with Jalen Carter after the Eagles linebacker jumped to try to catch the ball as Daniels whipped it to stop the clock with 11 seconds left, five seconds after which he put his feet in the pocket like a seasoned veteran threw is a nine-yard touchdown pass to Jameson Crowder in Washington’s 36-33 win over their NFC East rivals.
Daniels set rookie records in both completion percentage and rushing yards by a quarterback as he finished the regular season 331-of-480 for 3,568 yards and 25 touchdowns with just nine interceptions, along with 891 rushing yards and six scores on 148 carries. He also just became the first rookie to gain more than 300 offensive yards in multiple playoff games and the first with a passer rating of 100 or more in multiple playoff games.
“He’s a young quarterback on the birth certificate, not on tape,” Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio said this week.
“You know, the guy plays extremely well. You can tell how much they think he’s playing so well by the amount of offense and the things they trust him to do. He’s become a big deal to them and he’s tough to handle.”
Obstacles for beginners were inevitable, and when they came, he was up to them. The Commanders offense ranked first in EPA/play and fourth in success rate during their 5-2 start to the campaign, before falling to 18th in EPA/play and 16th in success rate from weeks eight through 12 after the streak of three losses against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Eagles and Cowboys, finally allowing Philly to take control of the division in the process.
Daniels didn’t blink. And Kingsbury avoided a collapse, previous criticism that he was too focused on his plan became stale. Although the running game has dried up a bit, the Commanders have responded by ranking eighth in EPA/play and sixth in success rate from Weeks 13-18. Disaster was averted.
“That’s what happens in the NFL around this time. Once you get to the middle, teams realize a little bit and you’re not a surprise to anybody,” right tackle Andrew Wylie said at the time of their midseason slump. “We have all the confidence in the world in the staff and the players. We’re going to keep picking and getting it done.”
Behind Daniels, they finished the campaign ranked seventh in total yards, 17th in passing, third in rushing and fifth in scoring, while also ranking fourth in third down efficiency and fourth in overall EPA/game.
Ertz insisted he would not hit the ‘panic button’. They didn’t. Daniels never does. And right now, no quarterback left in the playoffs is playing better football than him.
On defense, Quinn got production from all over the place, aside from the marquee name presence. Noah Igbinoghene saved his career as a starting cornerback after failing to hold down a spot in Miami, linebacker Bobby Wagner continues to put up elite numbers at age 34, Dante Fowler Jr just led the team with 10.5 sacks in the second best season of his career nearly 10 years since he was drafted, Frankie Luvu has emerged as a focal point while being used as a defensive lineman, pass rusher and coverage en route to a career-best 8.5 sacks and his first appearance in playoffs in his seventh season.
Behind the resiliency, behind their two playoff wins so far, behind the unpredictable campaign and behind the huge selection of ‘everyone eats’ contributors is a responsible, personal and united locker room formed by Quinn and his staff. It culminated in Washington’s first 12-win campaign since 1991, playoff wins over top-five offense Tampa and Detroit and now an NFC Championship showdown with familiar foe Philly, whose No. 1 defense and Saquon Barkley-inspired offense await.
Between them, Quinn and Daniels brought down the mockery story. Together, they could win the whole thing.
What’s next?
Sunday January 26th is the NFL Conference Championships – Live Sky Sports NFL – with the Philadelphia Eagles first hosting the Washington Commanders in the NFC title game at 8 p.m., followed by the Chiefs taking on the Bills at 11:30 p.m.
Super Bowl LIX takes place on Sunday, February 9 at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, live on Sky Sports NFL.
