The Commanders Won a Playoff Game and It Feels Weird
It's the first Monday of the NFL playoffs, and it's a victory Monday. That's right: The Washington professional football establishment won a playoff game.
What a world.
I didn't stay up to watch the entire game, partly because I had to wake up at 5 a.m. to get a bunch of things done before the kids got up today. But it's also because, in my heart of hearts, I didn't think they could win.
In the Dark Ages of Daniel Snyder, playoff appearances were rare and Washington's performances in them were decidedly meh. (Except for that one time we all watched in horror as our rookie sensation quarterback crumpled into a heap on the FedEx Field turf after shredding his knee ligaments. That one was decidedly awful.)
Having lived through all that, what I felt this morning wasn't quite joy but rather a bemused relief.
Relief that Jayden Daniels survived the season (thus far) behind an offensive line you could charitably describe as "patchwork." That the sieve of a secondary didn't doom each game to failure. That the white-hot start didn't set up a gut-punch collapse. That they somehow kept snatching victory from the jaws of defeat, rather than the other way around.
Like this ginormous piggy bank, Commanders fans are ready to party like it's 1982, 1987, and 1991.
The 2024-25 Commanders season has been thrilling, but a playoff win? Frankly, it's disorienting.
After the NFL exorcised Snyder in July 2023, Washington fans were out of our minds with glee. But none of us thought that within 18 months the Commanders would have another rookie-sensation quarterback, a 12-win season, and a playoff win under their belt.
As recently as January 2023, the outlook was bleak for us. Snyder was young by NFL owners' standards (he's only 60 now) and repeatedly said he'd never sell the team. In his nearly quarter-century of ownership, he hadn't just destroyed the on-field squad, he'd also eviscerated its off-field reputation through rampant sexual harassment that he allegedly participated in himself.
When all this was brought to their attention, Snyder's fellow NFL owners—who feared having skeletons dragged out of their own closets—turned a blind eye. It seemed that nothing in the world could free the Washington faithful from another 30+ years of football damnation.
Until it didn't.
Out of seemingly nowhere came allegations that Snyder was withholding revenue from his fellow owners and had secured a sketchy $55 million loan to buy out his minority partners. Finally, Snyder had messed with the one thing NFL owners cared about—their money—and they gave him the boot.
And voila. Here we are. Enjoying Victory Monday. In the playoffs.
The vibes around the team are immaculate. Their camaraderie seems to have reached a level not seen since RGIII's magical mystery tour in 2012. These guys could waltz into Ford Field on Saturday night and lose to the lions 56-0, and as long as Daniels walks away intact, this season would be etched in our memories as a delightful, magical surprise.
But it's more than that. For the first time I can remember (I was too young to fully appreciate the Gibbs glory years), 2024-25 feels like the beginning of something real—and possibly really good—for Washington football fans.
And goddammit, we deserve it.