Washington Commanders rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels has made history all season. On Sunday, Daniels put together another performance for the ages, leading Washington to its first playoff since 2005.
That’s the interesting part. Washington’s last playoff win came at Tampa, where it won on Sunday night. That was in January 2006. Joe Gibbs was in his second season of his second tenure with the then-Redskins, and Sean Taylor scored one of Washington’s two touchdowns.
The quarterback on that day was Mark Brunell. It wasn’t a particularly memorable day for Brunell, who passed for only 41 yards. Still, until Daniels on Sunday, he was the only Washington quarterback to win a playoff game this century.
On Saturday, Brunell will see Daniels and his former team. Brunell is in his fourth season as the Detroit Lions quarterback coach, so it’s safe to say he won’t be pulling for his former team.
Brunell’s star pupil, Jared Goff, had a joke about Brunell facing his old team.
Only two quarterbacks have won a playoff game for Washington this century and both will be at Ford Field Saturday night. Mark Brunell is the Lions’ QBs coach. pic.twitter.com/GIfEN5KpAc
— Nicki Jhabvala (@NickiJhabvala) January 15, 2025
While it’s not necessarily a Brunell revenge game — he played four of his 19 NFL seasons in Washington — there are plenty of other storylines ahead of Saturday’s game.
