by It almost seems like a bad dream now, all those years of suing fans, overpaying players, overcharging fans, replacing coaches, tormenting fans and embarrassing literally anyone who wore burgundy and gold. This year’s Washington football team has played so well, so far into the season, that it’s tempting to simply forget that Daniel Snyder ever lived through the entire 25th century.
So, go ahead. Draw a line from the Joe Gibbs-Mark Rypien-Art Monk Super Bowl era of the early ’90s to the Dan Quinn-Jayden Daniels-Terry McLaurin era of the mid-2020s and stop talking about the Snyder era.
Washington faces Philadelphia this weekend in the battle for the remainder of the NFC East crown. Granted, it’s anything but academic at this point – Washington (9-5) is three games behind Philadelphia (12-2) with three games remaining. But the Commanders are still playing for positioning, holding off the Seahawks or Falcons and avoiding the same Eagles or some NFC North best in the playoffs if possible.
Last week, the Commanders defeated New Orleans in a narrower victory than it should have been. It was their second straight win after a three-game deficit that could have derailed their season. Yes, the wins came over the Titans and Saints, not necessarily the Lions and Vikings, but there are no style points in the NFL. And for a young team seeking both an identity and a playoff spot, you have to win the easy games.
Now on Washington’s path: the Eagles, who are doing everything they can to 1) erase the pain of last year’s skid and 2) any hint of discontent in the locker room. After some possibly media-enhanced griping about the passing game a few weeks ago, Jalen Hurts threw for 290 yards and two touchdowns, and both AJ Brown and DeVonta Smith reached triple-digit receiving yardage totals. Combine that with Saquon Barkley’s MVP-level season on the floor and you have a complete offense. Oh, and Philadelphia also happens to have the game’s best defense in terms of yardage per game, averaging just 275.6 yards.
Washington was competitive against Philadelphia; In the last three games there was only a one-possession advantage. But then Washington lost all three of those games…and again, there are no second-place medals.
“If you want to be considered a heavy hitter, you have to hit them,” Quinn said earlier this week. “In the NFC East, Philadelphia has been the heavyweight of the division so far this season.”
Philadelphia has a reliable track record in the postseason. Washington, to put it politely, does not. The franchise has made the playoffs just five times this millennium, winning a single (1) playoff game during that run – a wild card victory in the 2005 season over a Tampa Bay team with quarterback Chris Simms.
The energy that Daniels et. al. that brought this season to Washington was remarkable and long overdue for Washington fans. Now fans of the 2020s no longer have to listen to the old stories of their parents and grandparents; You can greet the commanders yourself without being embarrassed. Jayden Daniels’ jersey is one of the best-selling in the NFL, and the league has moved Washington’s Week 17 game against Atlanta to Sunday night so the entire country can see Daniels and his team in action. That is respect.
If the Commanders win two of their final three games – closing with Philadelphia, home against Atlanta and on the road against Dallas – they will finish with their highest regular-season win total since 1991. For those who can’t list them all, Washington was the only Hogs to win the Super Bowl for the last time in the 1991 season – and not coincidentally, that was long before Snyder took over the team.
A Super Bowl or even a berth in the NFC Championship is a tall order for this still-developing Washington team. But the Commanders are on an upward trajectory…and when was the last time you could say that about a Washington team?
