The Washington Commanders’ last playoff victory came in Tampa against the Buccaneers in 2006. Their last playoff loss came against the same opponent in 2021. Sunday night’s NFC wild-card matchup between the two teams presents a strange symmetry for an upstart Commanders squad.
Recent history will also factor into the first playoff action for rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels, who lost 37-20 to the Buccaneers in the first start of his young career.
According to Washington’s players, that season-opening defeat was a lifetime ago.
“We had the whole season after Week 1,” center Tyler Biadasz said. “There’s a lot of film on them, but at the same time, we learned a lot about ourselves too. We always keep it about us.”
Though the sportsbooks list them as underdogs, Washington (12-5) is riding a five-game winning streak into the matchup against Tampa Bay (10-7), which scratched and clawed its way into the playoffs by winning the NFC South in the last week of the regular season.
Washington’s roster has been upgraded since that first loss. Most notably, former New Orleans Saints cornerback Marshon Lattimore will patrol the secondary for the Commanders after being acquired in an October trade.
A hamstring injury has hampered his playing time since joining Washington, but he projects to be a key factor in Sunday’s rematch. The 28-year-old was a full participant in practice this week.
In Week 1, a Lattimore-less Commanders secondary allowed a combined 13 receptions for 144 yards and three touchdowns to Buccaneers wide receivers Chris Godwin and Mike Evans. But Godwin is sidelined with an ankle injury, and Lattimore, Evans’ long-time rival, will likely shadow Tampa Bay’s top receiver on Sunday.
In their lone playoff matchup in January 2022, Lattimore held Evans to just one catch for three yards.
On the other side of the ball, Washington’s rookie quarterback has progressed by leaps and bounds after that inauspicious debut in Tampa Bay.
Since he joined the team as the No. 2 pick in last year’s NFL draft, Daniels has been praised by coaches and teammates for his poise under pressure.
A Hail Mary attempt against the Chicago Bears in Week 8 didn’t faze him. Neither did the game-winning drive against the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 16 nor the overtime pressure against the Atlanta Falcons in Week 17.
“The focus level might be a little bit more,” the presumptive Rookie of the Years said of his postseason debut. “But you got to stay who you are throughout the week, who you’ve been for these 17-18 weeks and go out there and just play ball.”
With an array of rookie contributors and first-time playoff participants on the roster, Commanders coach Dan Quinn turned to his veterans to help guide the team into the postseason.
“Football is not different. The plays aren’t different. It’s just, if you lose, there’s no next week,” said Commanders linebacker Bobby Wagner, who played in two Super Bowls with the Seattle Seahawks. “You have to find a way to stay focused because there’s a lot more attention, lot more noise outside, lot more people paying attention. You gotta ignore it and just play football.”
Wagner is one of a handful of veteran Commanders who have been here before. Guard Nick Allegretti, right tackle Andrew Wylie, tight end Zach Ertz and defensive end Clelin Ferrel have all been on Super Bowl rosters. They’ve been through this rigmarole before: the media attention, extra interviews and high stakes.
When the Commanders clinched a postseason berth following their Week 17 win against the Atlanta Falcons, those veterans started preparing their younger teammates for the experience.
“The only thing that’s different is all the media,” Wagner said.
The rookies — including Daniels, left tackle Brandon Coleman, cornerback Mike Sainristil and defensive tackle Johnny Newton — say they’re not intimidated by the brighter spotlight.
“I can speak for every rookie: nobody feels like a rookie anymore. Not just because we are more experienced but because of the way everybody made us feel,” Coleman said. “We weren’t treated like rookies in the beginning, and that never changed.”
The rookie class — Washington’s first with Quinn and new general manager Adam Peters — dazzled this season, sparking an unexpected postseason berth for a franchise expected to undergo a yearslong rebuild. A playoff win would be a bonus for an already successful campaign.
Despite the chorus of “just another game” from players and coaches, Sunday’s matchup is different for Commanders fans. It marks the franchise’s first playoff appearance since the 2020 season and their first postseason game with a winning record since the 2015 campaign.
A victory would give Washington its first playoff win since January 2006. Daniels was a kindergartener. Coleman, then 5 years old, was still living in Berlin. Newton, who grew up near the Buccaneers’ stadium in St. Petersburg, was three years old.
The first-year defensive tackle plans to keep the home team from firing off the celebratory cannons at Raymond James Stadium on Sunday.
“Hopefully the only time we hear them is when the game starts.”
• Liam Griffin can be reached at lgriffin@washingtontimes.com.
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