The Washington Commanders have been the talk of the league this season for how they've managed to overcome challenges, whether it's getting to 6-2 for the first time since 2008 with a rookie quarterback, going 2-0 on the road in a primetime Monday night game and cross-country matchup or even snatching a victory at the end of regulation with a Hail Mary.
Now, the Commanders have a new challenge in front of them; they must try to turn the page to the New York Giants after creating one of the wildest moments in franchise history.
Most NFL fans are probably aware of how the Commanders took down the Chicago Bears with Noah Brown's 52-yard touchdown pass from Jayden Daniels. It's been difficult to avoid, as the national media has shown the play on repeat for the past three days along with the numbers that prove how improbable it was to pull off. For a team that doesn't want to "ride the roller coaster," as coach Dan Quinn put it, even they had to take a moment to relish in the rarity of what transpired at Northwest Stadium.
With nine games left and a division rematch coming this weekend, now is now the time to be nostalgic.
"Because of the precise nature that we do to get ready, it does allow you to get right back into it," Quinn said. "All the things we have to do on a Wednesday and a Thursday and a Friday ... We really work hard at that to make sure the process of the week can take care of all the learning, so it doesn't leave you a lot of time for that."
Part of Washington's recent success, which currently has them in the No. 2 seed if the playoffs started this weekend, is because of how short the players' memory has been since the season began. Sunday's game has been the most insane moment so far, and perhaps will be for the rest of the season, but it's not the first time Washington has done something impressive on the field in 2024. They took down the Cincinnati Bengals in a shootout on Monday Night Football and hung 40 points on the Arizona Cardinals and Carolina Panthers.
The Commanders responded to those moments by staying consistent and not dwelling on their past achievements. After taking down the Bengals and Cardinals, in between which was a short week of preparation away from their home facility, they returned to Northwest Stadium and breezed by the Cleveland Browns in a 34-13 blowout. And of course, there was the Bears game last week after an even bigger win against the Panthers. It wasn't the prettiest game, but they found a way to extend their home win streak to 4-0 when it mattered most.
The Commanders have also responded well to their losses. Both sides of the ball looked out of sync in Week 1 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in a 37-20 defeat. They responded by going on to win four straight, with the offense scoring at least 34 points in Week 3-5 and the defense holding opponents to less than 20 points three times.
The hard-fought loss to the Baltimore Ravens, a moment that prompted Quinn to say during his Monday press conference that "we're not where we want to be yet," was followed by wins against the Panthers and Bears. Each presented their own challenges, with Daniels missing most of the Panthers matchup with his rib injury and the Bears being one of the hotter teams in the conference with a top five defense. Washington responded to both accordingly.
"I think we did a great job of celebrating and having fun and building energy in our locker room on Monday," said rookie receiver Luke McCaffrey. "I think today was such a good day to get started on the focus and the preparation for this week and to recalibrate...and getting locked in."
Because of how they have been able to move from one game to the next without dwelling on their successes, the Commanders keep giving people plenty to talk about. They're a top 10 offense in passing yards (9th) and on the ground (3rd) with the third-best scoring unit in the NFL. Their defense has improved from one of the worst in football to become a solid, feisty unit that has allowed just 20.9 points per game and is tied for seventh in sacks.
And if there wasn't any time for the Commanders to look back on their accomplishments in the first half of the season, there certainly won't be any in the second half, either. Their previous eight opponents have a combined record of 21-34, whereas their next seven are 24-29 -- still a losing record but also brought down by opponents like the Tennessee Titans (1-6) and New Orleans Saints (2-6). Teams like the Pittsburgh Steelers (6-2), Philadelphia Eagles (5-2) and Atlanta Falcons (5-3) are on the horizon as well.
Up first, however, are the Giants at 2-6, although their record doesn't tell the full story of how difficult they could be for the Commanders. Besides the fact that Washington only just managed to beat their NFC East rival in Week 2, the Giants also have a respectable defense that leads the league with 35 sacks and is seventh in third-down conversion rate.
Considering that the Eagles are starting to find their footing with three straight wins and a 1-0 division record, the Commanders can't afford to overlook the Giants.
Brian Robinson Jr. said it's "not difficult at all" for him and his teammates reset after last week's results.
"It's another week. That [the Hail Mary] doesn't happen every week, not even every year, but we just gotta keep doing what we do. There's too many games. It's a new week."
Just as the Commanders' Hail Mary pass against the Bears was more the result of good preparation than magic, there isn't anything special to how they can manage to move on from last week's dramatic win. It's a recognition that as cool as it was, the Commanders are playing for more than an improbable win in the middle of the season.
"Fortunately, there's some really cool leaders on this team that are able to step in and be able to be in the spaces that I'm not," Quinn said. "That's the guys like [Bobby] Wagner and [Zach] Ertz and [Frankie] Luvu and many others that are ready to step into that space and knowing, 'Hey, this is where we're gonna lock in to do our stuff.'"
It helps that Washington didn't play a perfect game against the Bears, nor should it have needed the Hail Mary to win. The offense was held out of the end zone on all three of its red zone trips, thanks to drops and uncharacteristic discipline penalties. The defense played well for almost three full quarters but gave up a 56-yard rushing touchdown -- an area of the unit that is taking more time to improve -- and couldn't quite finish in taking down Caleb Williams as many times as it could have.
That's eerily similar to how things unfolded in the first matchup with the Giants. Granted, Washington still won, and just as they did against the Bears, the players showed they can find victory in sloppy games. They will say, though, that neither seven field goals nor a prayer at the end of regulation are sustainable ways to win.
They'll need to get back to putting together team efforts to win games. Their past performances indicate they're capable of achieving that.
"Go out there and enjoy every moment of it with each other," Daniels said. "But at the end of the day, what happened last week doesn't really matter."
