The Washington Commanders will be playing more meaningful football in January after clinching a spot in the divisional round of the NFL playoffs with their thrilling 23-20 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday night.
The tides seemed to turn for Washington late in the game after Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield’s costly fumble, and the Commanders would go on to seal the come-from-behind victory on Zane Gonzalez’s nervy doink of a walk-off field goal.
Since being bought by investor Josh Harris in July 2023, the Commanders, who previously held a decades-long reputation as a long-suffering franchise under much-maligned ex-owner Dan Snyder, have enjoyed a pretty surprising turnaround. After hiring a new general manager in Adam Peters, a new head coach in Dan Quinn and drafting a franchise quarterback in Jayden Daniels, the Commanders won its first playoff game in 19 years on Sunday.
And minority owner Magic Johnson couldn’t be happier.
Following the win, Johnson took some time to reflect on the Commanders’ achievements in the wake of the Snyder era.
“You said what does it take?” Johnson told reporters. “New vision, new owner with a strategy, picking the right people—first our coach, Coach Quinn, Adam Peters, and then we all step out of the way and let them do their job.”
“Talent, culture and people,” Harris chimed in.
Magic Johnson and Josh Harris on the Commanders playoff win:
— Sam Fortier (@Sam4TR) January 13, 2025
“Talent, culture and people.” pic.twitter.com/nczxbjgdzY
When asked whether he envisioned the Commanders achieving this level of success within the short span of two years, Johnson simply replied, “Quarterback.”
Daniels, a No. 2 pick in the 2024 NFL draft, shined in his Commanders’ playoff debut, completing 24 of 35 passes for 268 yards and two touchdowns.
He also led the Commanders’ final drive for the game-winning field goal and inked his name into NFL history, becoming only the second quarterback in the playoffs to engineer an offense on the road with zero punts and zero turnovers. The first? Peyton Manning in 2003. Pretty good company for the young buck.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Magic Johnson Sounded So Happy to Be Over Dan Snyder Era After Commanders’ Playoff Win.
