Dozens of key plays helped the Washington Commanders pull off an unlikely upset of the Detroit Lions in the Divisional Round. One of the most important came just before half-time.
Detroit had scored on a 61-yard run by Jameson Williams to cut the Commanders’ lead to three points. Jared Goff wasn’t even on the field, and the Lions proclaimed that it didn’t matter who the quarterback was. Their offense could not be stopped.
With the game developing into a shootout, Dan Quinn’s team needed to hold serve. Jayden Daniels took them into the red zone with a beautiful throw to Dyami Brown. The two-minute warning hit.
Kliff Kingsbury tried a run and he tried a pass. Neither worked. It was 3rd-and-goal from the five-yard line. Had the next play failed, perhaps Quinn would have rolled the dice again on fourth down, but five yards in that situation is a big ask. Maybe he would have taken the field goal and gone up by six.
For that all-important third down, Kingsbury had his three primary receiving weapons — Terry McLaurin, Dyami Brown, and Zach Ertz — on the field. The other two skill position players were Austin Ekeler and Jamison Crowder.
Commanders acquired the right blend of youth and experience this offseason
Ekeler’s presence was not surprising. Crowder’s was.
It indicated one of the key philosophies employed by general manager Adam Peters when assembling this roster. Veteran experience was highly valued.
Crowder’s 123 NFL games virtually equals the combined career appearances of Luke McCaffrey, Brian Robinson Jr., and John Bates — the players who might have been on in his place. The player who ended up getting open and scoring the touchdown, Ertz, has 168 games on his resume, with 10 more in the playoffs. The tight end's touchdown put Washington up by double-digits and Detroit would never have the ball trailing by less than a touchdown again.
Crowder and Ekeler both missed significant time during the 2024 season. Ertz was banged up late in the year. They all look healthy now and the results have been apparent.
Since Crowder returned to the lineup after the bye week, the Commanders have not lost a game. Since Ekeler came back for the final regular season contest, the offense has averaged 30 points per game.
Peters didn’t only look for veterans on the offensive side of the ball, nor did he only find players with regular season experience. He added experience on defense and special teams as well. Whether by design or by happenstance, he signed a group of players who knew what it meant to be in postseason games.
Nick Allegretti, Bobby Wagner, Tyler Ott, Dante Fowler Jr., Ertz, Marshon Lattimore, and Marcus Mariota had all participated in at least seven playoff games before joining the Commanders. Do you know how many returning players Washington had with that kind of experience?
One. Andrew Wylie, who like Allegretti, learned what the pressure cooker of the playoffs is like with the Kansas City Chiefs.
Excluding Wylie, only three returning Commanders had been in more than a single playoff game before this season. Tress Way, Cornelius Lucas, and Trent Scott had each appeared in two. Returning players had a total of 24 postseason games entering this season, almost half of them coming from Wylie. The seven players mentioned above — all acquired by Peters either before or during the season — had played in 71.
Jayden Daniels has been rightfully praised for the extraordinary maturity he has shown during the season. That poise has only grown greater as the pressure has increased. But we shouldn’t lose sight of the fact that this team was built for such success.
Maybe it’s coming a little faster than expected, but Peters didn’t bring in veterans like Wagner and Ertz to rebuild. He wouldn't have re-signed Crowder if he thought this team was several years away from playoff contention. He signed them all to win.
As we enter the NFC Conference championships, home teams are 8-2 in the playoffs this year. In hindsight, maybe it shouldn’t come as a surprise that the only road team to win not only has the astonishing rookie signal-caller but also has some of the best veteran leadership possible.