Commanders Coach Knew ‘We’re Going to Win’ When Offense Got the Ball Back

ASHBURN, Va. — Hope is a powerful thing, but belief is even stronger, and that’s what the Washington Commanders have plenty of after defeating the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 23-20 in the Wild Card Round.

That belief didn’t just show up in Florida, however, it has been growing ever since the Commanders first got together for OTAs and into rookie minicamp, and so on. Every step this team has taken, the belief it has in itself has grown.

Because of it, while most are going to predict Washington will lose to the Detroit Lions this weekend, the coaches and players believe in themselves. And they believe that if they have the ball last with a chance to win they’re going to, because that is exactly what defensive coordinator Joe Whitt Jr. believed last weekend – and it came true.

“We’re going to win,” is what Whitt says he felt after his defense stopped the Buccaneers’ last possession of the game. “This game here, so it was a second-and-one. We got the stop. And then third-and-one, they sort of bobbled it, we get the stop. Now, they punted to us, I think it was four minutes or something else. Alright, ‘We’re going to go down and win it,’ That’s winning time. We got the stop that we needed, the special teams secured the ball, and we went down there and kicked the field goal. So, that’s what complementary football was all about, playing as a team.” 

Sunday night, the Commanders put together one of the cleanest performances they have had as a team in over a month. Penalties were low–though we’re sure the coaches would say any penalty is too many–mistakes weren’t critical, and like Whitt said, the football was complimentary.

Head coach Dan Quinn knows that’s exactly what his team will need again to keep their season going for at least one more weekend.

“Much like last game, I told you we’ll play our best complimentary game all year, offensively, defensively, and special teams,” said Quinn. “And Detroit in this game calls for that again. And so, we’re working hard on all those things from our field position stuff, our winning time moments, just all of it.”

Stick with CommanderGameday and the Locked On Commanders podcast for more FREE coverage of the Washington Commanders throughout the 2024 season.

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