Washington Commander vs Dallas Cowboys
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No, you're not dreaming. The Washington Commanders are headed to the NFC Championship game. For the first time since 1991, Washington is one game away from the Super Bowl. The Commanders most recently defeated the No. 1-seeded Detroit Lions in what was the largest upset playoff win in the NFL since 2019, and now they're looking for another statement victory when they travel to take on the rival Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC Championship this Sunday.

Prior to the start of the regular season, the Commanders were +15000 over at Caesars Sportsbook to win Super Bowl LIX. To put that in perspective, 26 of the other 31 NFL teams were considered more likely to win the Super Bowl in 2025. It was an eventful offseason, as Washington tabbed former Dallas Cowboys defensive coordinator Dan Quinn to be its new head coach, which was an underwhelming hire to some. The Commanders did score the second quarterback in the draft in Heisman Trophy winner Jayden Daniels, but would his skill set immediately translate to the next level? Yes, it did. 

Daniels led Washington to a 12-5 record, and broke rookie quarterback records for completion percentage (69%) and rushing yards (891). He will likely win Offensive Rookie of the Year, and just recently built on his legend with two straight road upset wins in the playoffs.

Daniels isn't the only reason Washington finds itself at the doorstep of the Super Bowl. Let's take a look back at the Commanders' magical 2024 campaign. 

2025 NFC Championship: Eagles vs. Commanders kickoff time, odds, TV, streaming as rivals eye Super Bowl berth
Jordan Dajani
2025 NFC Championship: Eagles vs. Commanders kickoff time, odds, TV, streaming as rivals eye Super Bowl berth

Notable offseason acquisitions

  • QB Jayden Daniels: The No. 2 overall pick plays like a seasoned veteran. He just became the third player in NFL history to throw for 500 yards, four touchdowns and zero interceptions, and rush for 75 yards through two playoff games. The others were Patrick Mahomes in 2019, and Josh Allen in 2021. An absolute home run of a draft pick. 
  • HC Dan Quinn: We can't forget about the head coach. With a win against the Eagles, Quinn would become the first head coach to lead multiple teams to the Super Bowl within his first two seasons with the franchise. Remember, he led the Atlanta Falcons to the Super Bowl in 2016 in his second season with the team. Quinn was quick to establish a culture of winning in Washington. 
  • OC Kliff Kingsbury: Last year, Kingsbury was a senior offensive analyst at USC. Now, he's getting NFL head coaching interest again. While some may call it a "college offense," Kingsbury's system is fun to watch. No offense in the league ran as much no-huddle as the Commanders, and they also led the league in fourth-down conversion rate as well (87%). 
  • DE Dorance Armstrong: Armstrong was just one of several former Cowboys Quinn brought to Washington. He signed a three-year deal with the Commanders, and recorded five sacks in 16 games played. He has also recorded 2.5 sacks in Washington's two postseason games. No other Commander has recorded one sack in the playoffs.  
  • LB Frankie Luvu: Luvu came over from the Carolina Panthers on a three-year deal, and established himself as a stud in this defense. He even earned his first career All-Pro honors after recording 99 tackles to go along with career highs in QB hits (14), sacks (8) and passes defended (7). 
  • C Tyler Biadasz: Washington's starting center came over from Dallas, and started in 15 games played. His 67.1 PFF grade ranked No. 12 among all centers this year. 
  • OL Nick Allegretti: After five seasons with the Kansas City Chiefs, Allegretti found his way to the Commanders. After spending the majority of his career as a backup, Allegretti started all 17 games at left guard.
  • RB Austin Ekeler: The longtime Charger joined the Commanders this offseason, and rushed for 367 yards and four touchdowns in 12 games played. He did just as much damage as a pass catcher, reeling in 35 receptions for 366 yards.
  • LB Bobby Wagner: The ageless wonder that will one day reside in Canton. Wagner recorded 100 combined tackles for his 13th straight season with a team-leading 132 takedowns, to go along with two sacks, 10 tackles for loss and eight QB hits. He was also named a Second Team All-Pro. 
  • DE Dante Fowler Jr.: Yet another former Cowboy. Fowler signed a one-year contract with Washington, and led the team with 10.5 sacks and 14 tackles for loss. 
  • CB Noah Igbinoghene: After one season with the Cowboys, Igbinoghene joined Washington and had a career year with 55 combined tackles and seven passes defended in 17 games played with 10 starts. Previously, he had never started more than two games in a season in his career. 
  • WR Olamide Zaccheaus: Zaccheaus actually spent last year with the Eagles. This season for the Commanders, he caught a career-high 45 passes for 506 yards and three touchdowns. 
  • WR Noah Brown: Brown deserves a mention on this list because he caught the incredible Hail Mary in Week 8 vs. Chicago. Unfortunately, he suffered a kidney injury vs. the Tennessee Titans in Week 13, which landed him on injured reserve. Still, in 11 games played Brown caught 35 passes for 453 yards and the one Hail Mary touchdown. 

Notable departures

  • HC Ron Rivera: Rivera went 26-40-1 in four seasons with Washington.
  • RB Antonio Gibson: The versatile Gibson signed a three-year deal with the New England Patriots, and he racked up 744 yards from scrimmage and one touchdown in 17 games played. 
  • CB Kendall Fuller: The Virginia Tech product, who had two different stints with Washington, signed with the Miami Dolphins last offseason and recorded 50 tackles to go along with seven passes defended in 11 games started. 
  • S Kamren Curl: Curl was a great selection by the Commanders in the seventh round of the 2020 NFL Draft out of Arkansas. He signed with the Los Angeles Rams last offseason, and recorded 79 tackles, one sack, two forced fumbles and nine passes defended in 16 games played. 
  • LB Cody Barton: Barton signed with the Denver Broncos last offseason, and had a spectacular 2024 campaign. He recorded 106 combined tackles, 1.5 sacks, five passes defended and two interceptions.
  • WR Curtis Samuel: Samuel signed a three-year deal with the Buffalo Bills, and caught 31 passes for 253 yards and one touchdown in 14 games. He did have a nice touchdown catch vs. the Broncos on Wild Card Weekend.

Turning point

Week 3 at Cincinnati Bengals: This is where Daniels caught everyone's eye with an incredible performance on a national stage. Washington earned a 38-33 victory over Joe Burrow and Co., where Daniels completed 21 of 23 passes for 254 yards and two touchdowns -- including a 27-yard TD dime to Terry McLaurin to push the lead to double digits with two minutes remaining in the fourth quarter. Here in Week 3, Daniels set an NFL single-game rookie record for completion percentage (91.3%), which was also a Commanders franchise record, and it was his second straight game where his offense scored on every single drive, excluding kneel downs. He also became the first player in NFL history to complete 80% of his passes while rushing for 150 yards in a three-game span. Again, this was Daniels' third career start. 

This win moved Washington to 2-1, and the Commanders would then go on to win five out of their next six games.

Favorite victory

Week 8 vs. Chicago Bears: The Hail Mary game. It will go down as one of the best plays in Commanders franchise history. What was legendary about this is that Daniels was questionable to play due to a ribs injury suffered the week prior vs. Carolina. The Bears game wasn't Daniels' cleanest outing, although he passed for a career-high 326 yards, but his final-second game-winning heave proved he was as special as Commanders fans claimed he was -- and it came against the quarterback who was selected over him at No. 1 overall.

Daniels' 52-yard Hail Mary to Brown was the longest game-winning touchdown as time expired in regulation in the regular season since the "Miami Miracle" in 2018.

Matchups vs. Eagles

Week 11 at Philadelphia (L, 26-18): Washington scored the first points of the game with a Brian Robinson Jr. touchdown and held a 10-6 lead entering the fourth quarter, but the Eagles scored 20 straight points to pull away. The Commanders lost despite Eagles kicker Jake Elliott missing two field goal attempts and an extra point. The passing game was nonexistent for the Commanders, as McLaurin and Zaccheaus were Washington's leading wide receivers with one catch for 10 yards apiece. 

Week 16 in Washington (W, 36-33): It's true that Jalen Hurts was knocked out of this contest with a concussion in the first quarter, but this game is still noteworthy for a couple of reasons. Saquon Barkley rushed for 109 yards and two touchdowns in the first quarter, then accounted for just 41 rushing yards in the final three quarters. Hurts being out clearly hurts Barkley, but maybe Washington learned some lessons on how to contain the NFL's best running back. Speaking of lessons learned, Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio picked up some things when it comes to Daniels. In Week 16, Philly recorded its second-highest blitz rate of the season (36%), and Daniels responded by completing 10 of 15 passes for 173 yards, and threw three of his five touchdowns against extra pressure. Daniels currently ranks third in EPA per play vs. the blitz (0.34) this season.

2024 season results

WeekOpponentResult

1

at Buccaneers

L, 37-20

2

vs. Giants

W, 21-18

3

at Bengals

W, 38-33

4

at Cardinals

W, 42-14

5

vs. Browns

W, 34-13

6

at Ravens

L, 30-23

7

vs. Panthers

W, 40-7

8

vs. Bears

W, 18-15

9

at Giants

W, 27-22

10

vs. Steelers

L, 28-27

11

at Eagles

L, 26-18

12

vs. Cowboys

L, 34-26

13

vs. Titans

W, 42-19

14

Bye

15

at Saints

W, 20-19

16

vs. Eagles

W, 36-33

17

vs. Falcons

W, 30-24 (OT)

18

at Cowboys

W, 23-19

Wild cardat BuccaneersW, 23-20
Divisional roundat LionsW, 45-31