Commanders key numbers, Week 18: No Jayden Daniels, no problem for Washington

The Washington Commanders can't beat good teams. The offensive line depth is questionable. The defensive front four can't stop the run. The team gives up too many penalties in key moments.

For all the criticisms the Commanders face, one thing is for sure. This team knows how to close out games.

Whether it's Jayden Daniels or Marcus Mariota leading the charge, one thing that this team does not do is quit until the clock hits triple zeroes. That's a mindset. That's a testament to the coaching staff. That is what you would call an exceptional culture.

This team has overperformed, going 12-5 and clinching the sixth seed in the NFC with the win over the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday. Dan Quinn deserves endless praise for turning this ship around quickly.

Yes, Dallas was starting their third-string quarterback in Trey Lance. Yes, Washington's run game was non-existent and its run defense was even worse. But, as was the case against the Atlanta Falcons and Philadelphia Eagles, the Commanders won a nail-biter — albeit it with a different signal-caller.

After an uneven first half with Daniels getting sacked four times, the coaches decided to protect their quarterback for the playoffs and rolled out Mariota. This was not Washington throwing in the white flag. On the contrary, it got the offense rolling.

Mariota was playing loose, with flashbacks to his time at Oregon. Daniels was smiling from ear to ear on the sidelines after the understudy ran for 33 yards on the Commanders' game-winning drive. Three plays later, with three seconds left, the signal-caller found Terry McLaurin in the end zone to put the game away.

It was almost poetic.

This team has flaws, but with the playoffs kicking off next week, we'll see how far the Commanders' heart and grit can take them. Let's review the key numbers from their final regular-season game of the year.

Commanders key numbers from dramatic Week 18 win at the Cowboys

5-0: The Commanders have gone 5-0 in December and January to close out the season after going 0-5 during that period last year. It hasn't always been pretty, but it is a testament to what Quinn is building. During his first year with the Falcons, the team started 6-3 before losing five of their last seven. When Washington lost three straight after a 7-2 start, there was fear history could be repeating itself, but the Commanders' finish to the campaign ended those doubts.

141: Mariota played near-perfect football, minus a sack where he tripped on the turf with no defenders around him. He finished with a 141 passer rating and had only three incompletions. On that final drive, the former No. 2 pick went 5-for-6 for 41 yards and added 34 yards on the ground.

13: McLaurin's touchdown catch to put the game away was his 13th of the season, which set a franchise record for Washington. Six of his 13 touchdowns have come during Washington's five-game win streak to close out the season.

14: The Commanders have won their last four games with a total margin of victory of 14 points. The New Orleans Saints win came after they could not convert on the two-point conversion at the end of regulation. The Eagles win came after Daniels found Jamison Crowder in the end zone with six seconds left. The Falcons triumph came in overtime after Atlanta missed a 56-yarder that could have won it at the end of regulation.

On Sunday, the Commanders scored with three seconds remaining to win. Call it luck, call it destiny, but either way, the margin of victory has been thin throughout much of this winning streak.

6: The Commanders' defense let the Cowboys get into the red zone on 6 of their 10 drives, but only allowed one touchdown. A bit of that came down to luck as Trey Lance was off target on two fairly easy completions on Dallas' last drive of the first half, leading to a turnover on downs. Instead of potentially being up 13-3, the home team went into the half with a three-point advantage. Early in the fourth quarter, the signal-caller found Jake Ferguson in the end zone, but he could not get both feet down, saving another score.

55.5: Brian Robinson Jr. hasn't looked the same since he injured his ankle in the first meeting with the Cowboys, and the running game has been largely ineffective outside of the signal-callers. Over the last four games, outside of quarterback rushing stats, the Commanders have only averaged 55.5 rushing yards per game and an anemic 3.26 yards per carry.

Over the last four games, the running backs only have one rushing touchdown. Even with Austin Ekeler back, Washington's ground attack was largely ineffective. Mariota and Daniels combined for 83 rushing yards, but all other rushers only had 30 yards across nine attempts.

162: Washington came into the game allowing the fifth-most rushing yards in the league, just behind Dallas. Although the Commanders' rushing attack was largely ineffective, the Cowboys were able to gain 150 yards on the ground.

Over the last three weeks, the Commanders have allowed an average of 162 rushing yards per game. This doesn't bode well as their wildcard opponent, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, has one of the most productive rushing offenses in the league.

With the Commanders traveling next week for their first playoff match-up since 2020, the team hopes to do something it failed to do in Week 1. However the season concludes from here on, Washington is fun to watch again.

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