It was a long road for the Washington Commanders to get back to the playoffs. Since 2020, they went through an ownership change, new head coaches, and now have a new franchise quarterback at the helm.
While Year 1 of Jayden Daniels was already an overwhelming success, the Commanders took their Cinderella story one step further. Let’s examine Washington’s first playoff win in two decades and when it last happened prior to that.
Washington Commanders End Playoff-Win Drought
Daniels and Co. went into Raymond James Stadium and pulled off the 23-20 upset over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, giving Washington its first postseason win since 2005. Washington joins last year’s Texans as the only teams in NFL history to win a playoff game the same year they drafted a quarterback top-two overall.
The Commanders once again thrived in a clutch situation, marching down the field in the final minutes to kick a game-winning, doinked field goal.
Daniels became the sixth rookie QB in NFL history to lead a fourth-quarter comeback in the postseason and just the third to do so on the road (joining Russell Wilson and Mark Sanchez).
Daniels has now led five fourth-quarter comebacks this season, tying the rookie QB record set by Dak Prescott and Ben Roethlisberger.
The legend of Daniels continues to grow, as he had 268 passing yards, two touchdowns, zero interceptions, and 36 rushing yards (including a game-sealing first down).
When Was Washington’s Last Playoff Win?
Prior to Sunday night, Washington’s last playoff win was in 2005. The franchise had made myriad changes in the offseason to remake a 6-10 squad from the previous year. They installed new quarterbacks coach Bill Musgrave, who had previous experience with Mark Brunell, and added the shotgun formation to their playbook.
From a player’s perspective, they lost Fred Smoot and Antonio Pierce before trading away Laveranues Coles for Santana Moss. A strong showing in the NFL Draft had the team poised for success, and they immediately delivered.
A 3-0 start showed that it was a new season for Washington, which was looking to secure a playoff berth for the first time in the new century. Unfortunately, a 2-6 go over the next eight weeks put a dent in their plans.
But the team rallied, winning five straight to finish the year and roar into the playoffs as the sixth seed. This is where the coincidences begin: The date was Jan. 7, 2006, as Washington faced off against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in a 3-seed-vs.-6-seed matchup in the Wild Card Round.
It wasn’t an offensive explosion like the ones fans in D.C. are expecting this year that gave them the victory. In fact, Washington tallied just 120 yards, the lowest for a winning team in playoff history. However, two turnovers going for touchdowns paved the way for a 17-10 win.
LaVar Arrington first had a 21-yard interception return in the first quarter, which set up Clinton Portis for a six-yard touchdown run before Marcus Washington recovered and then fumbled the ball to Sean Taylor, who scored after a 51-yard run. From there, they held onto their 14-0 lead, securing the win.
After that, they went to the playoffs four more times, losing each time in the Wild Card Round. Their last matchup, against the same Buccaneers they face off against this year, saw them lose 31-23 as Tom Brady went on to win his seventh Super Bowl.
Now, Daniels and the Commanders got their revenge and ended a nearly 20-year drought.