The Washington Commanders locked up their first playoff berth since 2020 with a 30-24 overtime win over the Atlanta Falcons. Here are five takeaways from the victory.

1. Jayden Daniels was amazing...again.

Is there anything more that can be said about Jayden Daniels' influence on the roster? He certainly comes up with new things to praise every week, and Sunday's win was just more evidence as to why he's a favorite to be the Offensive Rookie of the Year.

Daniels was down another wide receiver with Dyami Brown being ruled inactive and two starters on the offensive line. It didn't matter, because as head coach Dan Quinn said during his press conference, Daniels does things "you can't put on a card." Daniels accounted for 354 of the Commanders 412 yards, completing 67% of his passes for 227 yards and three touchdowns.

The quarterback was even more effective on the ground, as he rushed for 127 yards -- marking just the second time in franchise history that a quarterback has surpassed 100 rushing yards -- on 16 carries. While the Falcons had answers for the rest of Washington run game, Daniels created space with his legs and converted first downs when his offenses needed to stay on the field. He had a four-yard run on fourth-and-1 in the third quarter, which led to a touchdown a few plays later.

But Daniels was at his best in overtime with the game on the line. He had 69 of the offense's 70 yards, including a run that moved the unit to the Falcons' 2-yard line. He completed all five of his passes on the drive, the last being the go-ahead touchdown to Zach Ertz.

2. Too much laundry on the field.

For the last two weeks, Washington has had a frustrating habit of digging themselves into holes that are difficult to climb out of. Last week, it was five turnovers that contributed to a 21-7 deficit against the Philadelphia Eagles. This week, it was an inexcusable number of penalties. Washington ended the night with 13 flags thrown on them for 108 yards.

Six of those penalties came from offensive holding, and those mistakes either pushed Washington into difficult situations or even negated scoring opportunities. The first, which was committed by Tyler Biadasz, turned a first-and-10 at the Falcons' 12-yard line into a second-and-20 and led to an interception on the next play. There was also the hold on Brandon Coleman that contributed to Washington needing to convert a third-and-30. Then there was the hold on Sam Cosmi that took a touchdown off the board in the fourth quarter.

But Washington's defense was also helping keep the Falcons on the field. Mike Sainristil was called for offsides on a field goal attempt during Atlanta's second drive. So, rather than Michael Penix Jr. and his offense settling for three points, they got a chance to tie the score and succeeded five plays later. There was also the pass interference on Michael Davis in the fourth quarter that could have been disastrous for the Commanders, because it got Riley Patterson in range for a 56-yard field goal try.

There were several other penalties that played a role in the Commanders needing Daniels' heroics, but the point is that those mistakes will be even more costly in the playoffs. They must play cleaner going forward.

3. The defense buckled down in the second half.

Among the several similarities between Washington's last two wins is that its defense had answers in the second half after struggling at times in the first two quarters.

It's not to say that Atlanta did whatever it wanted in the first half -- Quan Martin did take advantage of an errant pass from Penix and returned the interception to the Falcons' 38-yard line -- but they were clearly more successful with two touchdown drives of 70 and 70 yards. Bijan Robinson played a large part in that; he carried the ball 13 times for 82 yards with two touchdowns and often saw wide gaps in the Commanders' run defense.

Robinson didn't do much for the rest of the night, as he finished with 90 yards on 17 carries. That is a credit to Washington tweaking its defensive front by moving Daron Payne to defensive end. It allowed the Commanders to set edges more effectively and prevent Robinson, known for his shiftiness, from breaking loose on the perimeter.

The Commanders also had much more success getting to Penix. The rookie quarterback was rarely rattled in the first half and often had clean pockets. That wasn't the case after halftime. Dante Fowler Jr. and Dorance Armstrong got to Penix twice, with the former getting a strip-sack. Those were the only two sacks Washington got all night, but the pressure was enough to affect Penix.

The Commanders will need to play a complete game if they hope to have a deep postseason run, but at least they've shown they can adapt when necessary.

4. Two long drives to take the lead.

Here's another reason for the Falcons' dip in offensive production: they rarely got the ball in the third quarter.

Washington got the ball to start the second half and methodically moved down the field on back-to-back touchdown drives, both of which required more than seven minutes of game time and double-digit plays. Granted, the first drive was salvaged by an illegal contact penalty on the Falcons, but the two drives, which included Washington converting two third downs and as many fourth downs, was when the offense looked the most in sync all night.

Once again, Daniels earned much of the credit. He found Ertz for a 37-yard gain on a broken play that moved the offense to the Falcons' 39; he converted one of the fourth downs with his legs and another with his arm, finding Jeremy McNichols in the middle of the field; and he had an 18-yard scramble on second-and-15.

Aside from ending both drives with seven points, the most important thing about that stretch was that it kept the Falcons' offense off the field. Atlanta had the ball for just 2:07 in the third quarter and ran three plays.

5. Playoff bound.

There were many who expected the Commanders would be lucky to win six games in Quinn's first season. There were also some who believed doubling their win total from 2023 would be a strong start to rebuilding the roster.

Now, the Commanders have a chance to triple their win total and lock up the No. 6 seed in the playoffs if they get a win over the Cowboys next week.

For the first time since 2020, the Commanders have earned a playoff spot, and unlike then, when they snuck into the postseason with a 7-9 record, they are expected to be more of a contender in a talent pool of NFC opponents. Though the last two weeks haven't always been pretty, they have proven they can compete, and even beat, playoff-caliber teams when they're at their best.

The players likely won't look ahead to the playoffs until they actually get there. That's been the team's mantra all season, and that isn't going to change now that they've punched their postseason ticket. For everyone else, though, it's fun to imagine what the team could be, not just when they play in the Wild Card round, but also what they could accomplish in future seasons.

No matter whether analysts expect the Commanders to be one-and-done or make a deep run, it's indisputable that the franchise is heading in a good direction.