The Washington Commanders had a great turnaround season and got even better under new head coach Dan Quinn and sensational rookie quarterback Jaden Daniels.
In a classic back-and-forth battle, the Commanders advanced to the NFC divisional round with a thrilling 23-20 road victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Zane Gonzalez's successful field goal It was another walk-off win for Washington in a season full of dramatic wins. It was their first playoff win in nearly 20 years, ending the longest active postseason drought.
Washington's next game is a trip to the Motor City on Saturday night to face the No. 1 seed Detroit Lions, a chaotic matchup with only fourth downs attempted by head coaches Dan Quinn and Dan Campbell. It will be.
When was the last time the Washington Commanders won in the playoffs?
This marked the third-longest active playoff win drought in the NFL.
Washington's last playoff win was 19 years ago in the wild-card round against none other than the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Daniels was only 5 years old when it happened.
Despite having only 120 yards of total offense (including Mark Brunell's 25 net yards passing). Washington won 17-10 after taking an early 14-0 lead. behind touchdowns by Clinton Portis and Sean Taylor. Washington faced the Seahawks in the divisional round the following week and lost, but the Seahawks ended a 21-year playoff drought in the process.
Who currently has the longest active playoff drought in the NFL?
The Miami Dolphins, who missed this year's postseason, haven't won in the playoffs since defeating Peyton Manning's Indianapolis Colts in the 2001 wild-card round. Next season will mark the 25th time since Miami's last playoff win and six straight postseason losses. during that span.
The Las Vegas Raiders are next on the list for Season 22, but winning a playoff game is tough when they have only made the playoffs three times since losing in Super Bowl XXXVII.
Which NFC team currently has the longest winning streak in the playoffs?
The Chicago Bears have broken the record for longest postseason win in the NFC. Their most recent victory came in the 2010 divisional round against the famous Seattle Seahawks, who were 7-9. Since then, they have lost their last three playoff games and are once again looking for a new head coach.
Jaden Daniels joins a rare team in NFL playoff history
Daniels became the first rookie QB to win a road playoff start since Russell Wilson in 2012, when the Seattle Seahawks defeated Washington, which trailed 14-0, 24-14. Technically, rookie John Wolford was the starter when the Los Angeles Rams defeated the Seahawks in the 2020 NFC Wild Card, but he left with an injury early in the first quarter and was replaced by Jared.・Goff was appointed.
Before Daniels' win, the rookie quarterback was just 5-18 in road playoff games, with Bo Nix being the underdog in the Denver Broncos' 31-7 loss to the Buffalo Bills earlier Sunday. joined.
Joe Flacco (Baltimore Ravens) and Mark Sanchez (New York Jets) are the only other quarterbacks to win road playoff starts as rookies and appear in the AFC Championship Game in 2008 and 2009, respectively. . If Daniels can pull off a shocking win against the Lions, he will join those two as the only rookie quarterbacks with multiple road playoff wins.