The Washington commanders should not be here.
A new manager, a new coach and a rookie quarterback should not be outside the door of the Super Bowl.
Particularly this team.
This season was expected to be the beginning of the rebuilding of a once-proud franchise shedding years of turmoil under its disgraced former owners.
Josh Harris entered his second season as the Chiefs’ new owner with a new face in the executive suite in GM Adam Peters, another on the sideline in Dan Quinn and a third under center in Heisman winner and No. 2 draft pick Jayden Daniels .
Coming off a 4-13 finish—its seventh straight non-winning season—Washington’s bar for improvement was low.
But no one thought that this year’s commander would soar so high.
Daniels led Washington to its fifth win before Halloween. The Chiefs later recorded their first 7-2 start since 1996, then weathered a three-game skid to secure their first playoff appearance in four years and first winning season in eight.
Already worthy of a story for a story, but Quinn, Daniels and company have proven they have a lot more ink.
They first posted a last-second win at Tampa Bay in the wild-card round, then followed with a blowout win against top-seed Detroit in the division.
Now comes a third battle against Division Rival Philadelphia, who on paper shouldn’t lose Sunday’s NFC Championship.
But this Washington team has defied expectations all season. That’s why the Chiefs will not only beat the Eagles, but also the AFC team moving forward to face them in the Super Bowl on February 9 in New Orleans.
Let’s dive deeper into how Washington will win its first World Series since 1992, starting with Sunday’s game in Philadelphia.
A lock for Rookie of the Year, the 24-year-old Daniels has shown elite poise while helping his long-suffering franchise stack to some of its biggest wins in decades.
He completed 69 percent of his passes in the regular season and has been just as sharp in his first two playoff games, hitting 69.7 percent of his throws for 567 yards and four touchdowns with no turnovers.
Daniels will need to be just as adept Sunday to help the Chiefs keep pace with an Eagles offense that will have no problem running the ball against Washington.
Philadelphia racked up 228 and 211 yards on the ground in its two regular-season meetings with the Chiefs, with Saquon Barkley accounting for 296 of those yards and four rushing touchdowns.
Barkley has rushed for 324 yards these playoffs, and Jalen’s knee injury gives the Eagles even more reason to feed their star running back on Sunday.
Philadelphia will do a lot, but Washington has proven it can surpass its division foe in a track meet. Daniels threw a season-high five touchdowns in the team’s weekly contest, including the game-winner to cap the Commanders’ 36-33 victory.
Even as the Eagles shred his team’s run defense on Sunday, Daniels will conjure up another dazzling performance against Philadelphia’s top-ranked defense to lead Washington to the Superdome.
The formula should remain the same for the Chiefs if they face the Buffalo Bills in the Big Easy.
Buffalo also has a solid running game behind running back James Cook and quarterback Josh Allen, who led the Bills’ ninth-ranked rushing offense during the regular season.
Buffalo overcame a pair of top-three defenses in Denver and Baltimore to advance to the AFC Championship, and the Bills would have rolled through Kansas City’s eighth-ranked unit to eliminate the two-time defending champions.
Cook and Allen will each have their share of explosive carries against Washington, but Daniels will sprinkle in some big drives against a Buffalo defense that has allowed 8.2 yards per rush against quarterbacks in the playoffs so far.
Assuming Daniels plays turnover-free, the Chiefs will push past the Bills in a close game largely decided by Daniels’ dual-threat ability.
If Washington ends up thwarting the Chiefs’ bid for the league’s first three-peat, it will do so by beating Kansas City at its own game.
The Chiefs have thrived in close contests, with 11 of their 16 wins through the divisional round decided by one possession.
It’s not a concrete state, but Kansas City is arguably the most calm and collected team in the league when Pressure Peaks. We’ve all seen Patrick Mahomes and Andy Reid win enough nailbiters to back that up.
The Chiefs will be in another close one against the Chiefs, but Washington will remain steady and play their best when it matters most.
That’s how the Chiefs started their season run, after all.
Washington had just a 28.4 percent chance when it beat Tampa Bay by four points in the fourth quarter. A key takeaway led to the Commanders’ standout touchdown, and Daniels answered the Buccaneers’ tying field goal by leading his team 51 yards for the game-winning kick as time expired.
Washington will once again have the ball last against Kansas City, setting the stage for one last magical run from Daniels to wash away decades of football futility in the nation’s capital.
