The Washington Commanders' 42-19 rout of the Tennessee Titans at home Sunday was a momentous occasion for linebacker Bobby Wagner. The 34-year-old recorded his 100th tackle of the season in the first quarter of the matchup, marking his 13th-straight season with at least 100 stops.

The feat puts Wagner in the same category as former Washington linebacker London Fletcher, the only other player in NFL history with the same career tackles record. Wagner finished the game with five tackles and one quarterback hit on Will Levis.

Wagner's achievement on the field demonstrates his consistency and credibility as a player, which directly translates to the type of teammate Wagner is in the locker room, according to head coach Dan Quinn, who cited Wagner's off the field actions as his biggest impact on the team this week.

"I thought Bobby was the catalyst at the very beginning of the week and talking to his teammates, which he doesn't do very often," Quinn said following the win in his press conference. "So, for him, I knew there was something there that he wanted to share. And it's so impactful when it can come from a teammate. And I thought he was the one that set this week off and set it in motion."

Ahead of the Week 13 matchup, Wagner knew he needed to speak up to end the three-game skid his team was riding to go into the bye week on a high note. Although he prefers to lead by example, Wagner took it upon himself to address his teammates in the locker room.

"Sometimes you just got to trust your gut and trust your instincts and that's really what that was," Wagner said of what compelled him to speak up.

The veteran spoke of the sacrifice it takes from each one of his teammates to realize what they can be as a group when they work together. He also added that the team needed to tune out the noise and get back to having fun playing the sport they love.

"I think we just needed to have fun," Wagner said. "I think as the expectations started to grow, we needed to get back to just having fun, that's why we were playing so well. We weren't worried about what the outside was saying. You know there's going to be games where the outside appreciates us, there's going to be games where the outside thinks we're not playing that well. As long as we focus on the people that's in here and just have fun everything takes care of itself."

Wagner's message resonated with rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels, who spoke to the value of Wagner's pregame speech.

"Losing is never fun," Daniels said in his postgame press conference. "I don't think any competitor will ever think that's fun but you have to go out there and the talk that we had. Be able to sacrifice something for the betterment of the team and what are we willing to give up because we have something special in that locker room. We have to go out there each and every week and prove it."

With Wagner's help, the Commanders were able to go out there and prove themselves as a contender. Washington shut out the Titans in the first quarter, recording a plus-21 point differential -- the team's most in a quarter since the fourth quarter of their Week 12 matchup against the Dallas Cowboys in the 2020 season.

Heading into the bye week, the Commanders have a winning 8-5 record and hold strong at second in the NFC East division. While Wagner knows they still have a lot left to prove, it's easier to relax with another week in the win column.

"It's good going into the bye having a win versus a loss," Wagner said. "There's still a lot of things that we need to fix but winning is always better than losing. It's cool to have a win in the NFL, take some time to recover and come back and be ready these last four weeks."