Jayden Daniels, Commanders end one of NFL’s longest playoff win droughts with thrilling win over Bucs

Jayden Daniels has given the Commanders something they haven’t seen since Daniels was only four years old: a playoff win.

The Washington Commanders have had a tremendous turnaround season under new head coach Dan Quinn and sensational rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels, and it’s gotten even better.

In a back-and-forth classic, the Commanders advanced to the NFC Divisional Round with a thrilling 23-20 road win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Zane Gonzalez’s successful field goal doink gave Washington yet another walk-off victory in a season filled with dramatic wins. It’s their first playoff win in nearly two decades, and it puts an end to one of the longest active postseason droughts.

Up next for Washington is a Saturday night trip to the Motor City to play the No. 1 seed Detroit Lions in what figures to be a chaotic matchup just for all of the fourth downs that will be attempted by head coaches Dan Quinn and Dan Campbell.

When was the Washington Commanders’ last playoff win?

This was the third-longest active playoff win drought in the NFL.

The last Washington playoff win was 19 years ago in the Wild Card round at none other than the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Daniels was only five years old when that happened.

Despite just 120 total yards of offense (including 25 net yards passing by Mark Brunell), Washington won 17-10 after racing out to an early 14-0 lead behind Clinton Portis and Sean Taylor touchdowns. Washington was eliminated the following week in the Divisional Round against the Seahawks, who ended their 21-year playoff drought in the process.

Who currently has the NFL’s longest active playoff win drought?

The Miami Dolphins, who missed this year’s postseason, haven’t won a playoff game since knocking off Peyton Manning’s Indianapolis Colts in the Wild Card round back in 2001. Next season will mark the 25th since Miami’s last playoff victory, with six consecutive postseason defeats during that span.

The Las Vegas Raiders are next on the list at 22 seasons, and it’s hard to win a playoff game when you’ve only made the playoffs three times since losing Super Bowl 37.

Which NFC team has the longest current playoff win drought?

The Chicago Bears have the new longest postseason win drought in the NFC. Their most recent victory was in the 2010 Divisional Round against the famous 7-9 Seattle Seahawks. They’ve since lost their last three playoff games and are once again looking for a new head coach.

Jayden Daniels joins rare company in NFL Playoff history

Daniels is the first rookie quarterback to win a road playoff start since Russell Wilson in 2012, when the Seattle Seahawks beat Washington 24-14 after trailing 14-0. Technically speaking, rookie John Wolford was the starter when the Los Angeles Rams beat the Seahawks in the 2020 NFC Wild Card, but he left early in the first quarter with an injury and was replaced by Jared Goff.

Prior to Daniels’ win, rookie quarterbacks were just 5-18 in road playoff games, with Bo Nix adding to the loss column earlier on Sunday in the Denver Broncos’ 31-7 loss to the Buffalo Bills.

Joe Flacco (Baltimore Ravens) and Mark Sanchez (New York Jets) were the only other quarterbacks to win road playoff starts as rookies, making it to the AFC Championship Game in 2008 and 2009, respectively. If Daniels can pull off the shocker against the Lions, he’ll join those two as the only rookie QBs with multiple road playoff wins.