WS Chronicle

We are heading into Week 12 of the NFL season and the Washington Commanders are still in the thick of the playoff hunt and look like one of the better teams in the NFL. The Commanders are 7-4 at the time this article was written and are on pace to finish the regular season as one of the top teams in the NFC.

As a diehard Commanders’ fan, I have become accustomed to my team not being relevant after week 10 most of my adult life; however, this season I have more optimism about this season than any other in recent memory. To be honest, I thought this season would be a rebuilding year due to the fact the team has a new head coach, new ownership, and a rookie quarterback.

Fortunately for me and all the desperate Commander fans, Dan Quinn and Jayden Daniels had other plans. Many analysts, fans and sports writers, including myself, felt the ceiling for the Commanders this season would be seven or eight wins. Coming off a 4-13 season, eight wins would have been a sign of better things to come, but now eight  wins would be a disappointment.

Since the turn of the century, the Commanders have only made the playoffs a total of five times and haven’t made it out of the divisional round. Washington hasn’t had this much hype since Robert Griffin III hit the field in 2012.  That situation didn’t turn out well, but for some reason this season feels different.

I have to be honest and admit that I didn’t think that Dan Quinn was the right man for the job when he was announced as the new head coach for the team. I remember his time as the head coach of the Atlanta Falcons and the epic collapse the team suffered in the Super Bowl against the New England Patriots. The Falcons were leading 28-3 and wound up losing the game. That was the biggest collapse in Super Bowl history, and I didn’t think Quinn was ready for another chance as a head coach.

Not only was Quinn ready for his next opportunity, but he also obviously learned a lot from his previous stint as a head coach. He has turned Washington from one of the laughing-stock franchises into a respectable one. For that reason alone, Quinn has earned my respect and placed himself in the coach of the year race.

Daniels has been better than advertised. I thought he would be good, due to the high number of college starts under his belt, but the kid is playing like a seasoned veteran. Griffin had a great rookie year back in 2012, but this feels different in a good way. If Daniels can stay healthy, the sky’s the limit for him and this franchise.

As a fan of a franchise that has not won much in the last three decades, I am used to having high hopes to start the season, only to be disappointed by week 8. For the first time in a long time, I not only am happy about this season, but also for the foreseeable future.

It honestly amazes me it has taken this long for Washington to become relevant again. Growing up as a kid in the Washington, D.C. area, the Commanders, formerly the Redskins, were consistently one of the best teams in the league. From 1983 to 1991, Washington won three Super Bowls.  

Nearly everyone in the DMV (D.C., Maryland, Virginia) area was a fan of the Washington Franchise back then. I vividly remember watching the Super Bowl following the 1991 season when Washington faced off against the Buffalo Bills. I was so excited to see Washington defeat the Bills and thought this would be a regular occurrence.  

Boy, was I sadly mistaken. Washington had a couple of good seasons following the Super Bowl victory.  Unfortunately for Washington fans, things really took a nosedive when Dan Snyder bought the team from the estate of former owner Jack Kent Cooke in 1999. Snyder is widely considered one of the worst owners in the history of professional sports.

Snyders’ tenure was filled with losing seasons, over-the-hill superstars, and controversy. The team was rarely competitive under Snyder, the stadium was horrible, and many former Washington fans turned to other teams like the Baltimore Ravens, Philadelphia Eagles, or even the hated Dallas Cowboys.

Now that we are once again a respectable franchise, hopefully some of those fans who jumped ship will come back home and be fans of the Commanders once again. Over the years, I’ve had hundreds of people ask me why I am still a fan of the team. My response is always the same: I’ve been a fan for over 30 years and I am too old to switch allegiances.

The season is not over yet, and we have a chance to make some noise in the playoffs. I am not saying we are Super Bowl contenders, but what I am saying is the Commanders will not be an easy win for any team in the playoffs.  Dan Quinn and ownership have managed to change the culture in less than a year. It’s amazing how a change in leadership and culture work wonders for a franchise. 

I am excited to see what the next five to ten years have in store for the Commanders and the fans who love them.