Four Downs with the Commanders: Doinking their way to Detroit

Washington Commanders place kicker Zane Gonzalez, right, is congratulated by teammates after kicking the game winning field goal against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers during the...Read more

Once again, the Washington Commanders save their best for last.

For the fifth straight game, the Commanders secured a one possession victory as they topped Tampa Bay 23-20 on a field goal Sunday night in the Wild Card Round (the NFL wisely dropped the “Super” from the branding this year).

Even with the good luck of Zane Gonzalez’s 37-yard kick bouncing in off the right goalpost, Washington played well enough to survive and advance. The degree of difficulty increases quite a bit as they’ll now face the NFC’s No. 1 seed, the Detroit Lions.

But can you count this team out after the way they’ve come through in the clutch?

First Down: There was plenty to like about Sunday’s win beyond the final score, starting with the 17-play march that covered 92 yards over 9:08 and led to the team’s first touchdown. What an exhibition of scheme and execution. And while the game-winning drive perfectly melted the final 4:41 off the clock, the most impressive possession to me was after the second-half kickoff.

After coughing up a “blowtorch through butter” drive that resulted in a game-tying touchdown at the end of the first half, Washington reestablished itself with a 10-play march covering 66 yards and wrapping up in a go-ahead field goal. Over the last month, whenever this team has needed to make plays to stay in the game or retake control, it’s responded.

Second Down: While Washington posts its first playoff win since 2005, the other seven teams are no strangers to the second weekend of the postseason. Detroit reached the NFC Championship Game last year while Philadelphia played in the Super Bowl two seasons ago. The Los Angeles Rams have the longest divisional round drought but are only three years removed from a trip to the Super Bowl.

Houston played in the divisional round last season (also at 4:30 on Saturday — what is the deal with the Texans always being in that time slot?), while the Ravens hosted the AFC Championship Game last year. Buffalo makes its fifth straight appearance in the divisional round while two-time defending Super Bowl champ Kansas City is here for the seventh consecutive January (or since Patrick Mahomes took over as the team’s starting quarterback).

Third Down: Washington moved the chains on 8 of 15 attempts with Jayden Daniels completing 7 of 11 passes for six conversions while getting sacked once. One of Daniels’ two called runs reached the marker, while Marcus Mariota moved the chains on his lone carry. The top option? Terry McLaurin had three passes thrown his way, but while Dyami Brown and Austin Ekeler each had two catches, it was Brown who led the team with two conversions.

Yardage breakdown: 4-7 on third and short, 3-7 when needing four to six yards, and 1-1 on third and long. Defensively the Commanders held the NFL’s top team on third down (Tampa Bay converted over 50% during the regular season) to 4-8 on the money down.

Flag on the Play: Five penalties for 39 yards, with two penalties declined (special teams offsides on a made field goal plus a defensive offside on a converted third down). Three of the accepted penalties were on defense (pass interference, face mask and holding) while two were on offense (ineligible downfield pass and false start). There were no multiple offenders this week.

The most costly infraction? The pass interference on Marshon Lattimore in the end zone that placed the ball at the Washington one, setting up the Buccaneers for a touchdown right before halftime (they’d score on the very next play).

Fourth Down: After enjoying NBC’s Sunday Night Football booth of Mike Tirico and Cris Collinsworth for the second time in three weeks (aside: even though he’s in his 40s, the fact that Chris Simms wears a sweater makes the analyst appear like a college intern), Washington remains in the prime time window but gets the FOX treatment this time.

In a move that will confuse nobody from a branding standpoint, the divisional round has both networks that usually broadcast prime-time games (ABC/ESPN and NBC) doing games in the early window Saturday and Sunday.

Washington gets the duo of Kevin Burkhardt and Tom Brady, and the seven-time Super Bowl champion has been much-maligned in his rookie season as the network’s No. 1 analyst. He sounds like a guy doing games for the first time in his life, which he is, and that’s a tough sell for FOX with a very capable Greg Olsen being demoted to the No. 2 slot despite doing everything asked of him over the last few years. If Brady winds up being a bust in the booth, he won’t be the first high-profile player to not be able to make the transition.

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Dave Preston

Dave has been in the D.C. area for 10 years and in addition to working at WTOP since 2002 has also been on the air at Westwood One/CBS Radio as well as Red Zebra Broadcasting (Redskins Network).

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