DETROIT — Josh Harris thinks this remarkable season by the Washington Commanders is heaven-sent.
“You can’t put this into perspective,” said the Commanders’ managing partner with his arms raised. “It’s God. The notion that we would win four games last year and be in the NFC championship.”
Then Harris brought the conversation back to earth and Washington’s divine rookie quarterback who directed another magical showing.
“Jayden,” he said about Jayden Daniels. “Jayden is a special guy.”
Actor Jeffrey Wright stood close behind. Like Harris, the Emmy and Tony award-winning performer grew up a fan of the NFL franchise during a time when Super Bowl appearances occurred more often than presidential elections.
“But it’s happening because of him,” Wright interjected, pointing at Harris. “It happened because (Josh) made it possible.”
“It” was Washington upsetting the heavily favored Detroit Lions 45-31 at Ford Field on Saturday night. The win thrust the Commanders into the NFC Championship Game next week for the first time in 33 years. They will face the winner of Sunday’s Los Angeles Rams-Philadelphia Eagles contest at Lincoln Financial Field.
The franchise that provided tremendous highs to Harris, Wright and countless others is one win away from giving generations raised without hope a shot at glory.
“I’m so happy for the DMV,” said Harris, a second-year owner in Washington. “I can’t imagine what’s going on there. Let’s go. One game from the Super Bowl!”
GO DEEPER
The Commanders are a win away from the Super Bowl. Let that marinate for a bit
When training camp began, nobody outside their building thought they would reach this stage. Inside, they imagined a different campaign.
“I always believed that we could achieve more than people give us credit for,” Daniels said.
The quarterback passed for 299 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for 51 additional yards as his rock star tour around the NFL continues, picking up win after win in city after city. The latest came in the Motor City. That’s where the organization’s basketball guys got the last laugh.
Harris, who owns the Philadelphia 76ers, had NFL outsiders in his inner circle when the turnover began. Five-time NBA champion Magic Johnson, part of the ownership group, giggled like someone unfamiliar with that winning feeling. Bob Myers, the architect of four titles as the Golden State Warriors’ general manager, was part of the ecstatic postgame scene.
Then there’s Daniels, who doesn’t go anywhere without a basketball. He reunited with the one in his locker Saturday night minutes after Washington won a playoff game few imagined it would.
“He just has a different poise about him than most and he’s a rare competitor,” Commanders coach Dan Quinn said. “But in those moments — if he was a basketball player, he’d want the last shot. As a ballplayer, he wants the ball in his hands to make the difference, and he makes great decisions with the football. And that takes real mindfulness.”
Nobody doubts the Commanders anymore. If a 12-5 regular-season record and last week’s wild-card road win over the Buccaneers didn’t convince the remaining skeptics, hammering the NFC’s top seed indeed did the trick.
Washington’s offense scored 28 points in a record-setting second quarter for a 31-21 halftime advantage. The team that won its last five games on the final play from scrimmage extended the lead to 17 points at 45-28 halfway through the final period. Before the Commanders congregated inside their lit locker room, they quieted a crowd of nearly 65,000 Detroit fans who believed this was their year.
“It’s such an amazing feeling when you come into somebody else’s place and you see them leave or (get) quiet,” linebacker Bobby Wagner said. “It’s a feeling like no other.”
The Commanders scored 28 second-quarter points and had 31 at halftime in front of a raucous crowd in Detroit. (Gregory Shamus / Getty Images)
The defense, which struggled to generate turnovers for much of the season, ended with five, including four interceptions, two by second-round rookie Mike Sainristil.
“Five turnovers!” defensive coordinator Joe Whitt Jr. exclaimed while entering an elevator with his fellow winners before flashing a peace sign to a reporter as the doors closed.
None of this was expected for a franchise that hadn’t reached such highs since 1991 when Washington won its third Super Bowl in 10 years. Not this fast, anyway. The head coach of those teams was among the revelers celebrating the Commanders.
“I’m so proud of everybody,” three-time Super Bowl champion coach Joe Gibbs said. “Putting this team together in really a year is phenomenal, great. To get a win like that on the road gives you great confidence. Fantastic.”
When Harris purchased the Commanders in July 2023, he recognized that no easy fix existed, at least not in the franchise’s current state. He patiently allowed the season to play out, allowing him to devise a plan.
Last January, he hired Adam Peters away from the San Francisco 49ers to improve the roster. They searched for a head coach, considering Quinn, Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson and others. Quinn ultimately became the man in charge of setting the culture and tone.
Similar aspects of the 23-20 win at Tampa Bay were in effect against Detroit. Knowing Washington needed to maximize possessions, Quinn boldly went for a fourth down on the opening drive in field goal range. While a Marcus Mariota motion into a QB sneak failed, Washington converted its next three fourth-down attempts.
Wide receiver Dyami Brown set a season high in receiving yards last week. He topped that against a Lions secondary that lost cornerback Amik Robertson to a broken arm in the first quarter. Brown paced Washington with 98 yards on six receptions.
JAYDEN DANIELS. THE FUTURE IS NOW.
📺: #WASvsDET on FOX
📱: Stream on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/4j76DTbvTL— NFL (@NFL) January 19, 2025
Scoring only three points on the opening two drives after each possession went inside Detroit’s 30-yard line felt like missed opportunities against a team that averaged 33.2 points this season. The Lions scored first on Jahmyr Gibbs’ 1-yard touchdown run. After Washington went ahead 10-7 following a 2-yard touchdown from Brian Robinson Jr. early in the second, the Lions regained the lead at 14-10 on tight end Sam LaPorta’s spectacular one-handed catch midway through the quarter.
The pass from Jared Goff left the quarterback’s hand a split second before Jonathan Allen yanked him to the ground. That was the last time Washington let control of the game slip away.
The Commanders scored three touchdowns inside the final 6:23 of the second, where the teams combined for 42 points, the most ever in a playoff quarter. Wide receiver Terry McLaurin raced 58 yards into the end zone off a screen pass from Daniels. The quarterback found tight end Zach Ertz on a 5-yard touchdown catch on third down to close the first-half scoring.
TERRY TO THE HOUSE. 58 YARDS.
📺: #WASvsDET on FOX
📱: Stream on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/1oVkyJaqsv— NFL (@NFL) January 19, 2025
In between and right before Jameson Williams’ 61-yard touchdown run off a reverse, Washington safety Quan Martin’s 40-yard interception return for a touchdown added to the bonkers quarter. The Commanders deployed a Cover 2 look on second-and-14 from Detroit’s 18-yard line. Goff’s pass to Tim Patrick on the left side sailed high and into the hands of Martin. The 2023 second-round pick returned to “little league running back days” as he swerved in and out of traffic for a touchdown.
The Commanders failed to capitalize after opening the second half on offense. When Gibbs, who finished with 175 total yards, scored his second touchdown and shrunk the margin to three midway through the third quarter, the Daniels-led offense kept its cool. Washington executed a 15-play, 70-yard drive that chewed 8:28 off the clock and ended with Robinson’s second score of the night. The Commanders never looked back.
“It feels good. It’s a surreal moment,” Daniels said in his typical low-key style.
Washington is riding a seven-game winning streak as it awaits the winner between the Eagles and Rams on Sunday. Should the Commanders get another victory next week, they’d earn a spot in the Super Bowl. Surreal indeed.
This team knows work remains — starting right guard Sam Cosmi could be out after suffering a knee injury — but whatever has come its way, Washington’s found a path to success.
Harris said the teenage version of himself would be “out and elated” after such a win. That surely happened back in the D.C. area Saturday night with kids of all ages celebrating and screaming to the heavens now that their Commanders are headed to the NFC championship.
(Top photo of Terry McLaurin and Jayden Daniels: Nic Antaya / Getty Images)
