The Washington Commanders played with house money all the way to the NFC Championship Game, and that will pave the way for an insanely bright future. Most teams that start a rookie QB end up winning a handful of games and secure a very high pick in the following NFL Draft. For the most part, year two or year three of a QB's tenure is when things really start to turn up.
The Cincinnati Bengals made the Super Bowl in year two of the Joe Burrow era. The Kansas City Chiefs made the AFC Championship Game in year two of the Patrick Mahomes era. The Buffalo Bills made the postseason in the second year of the Josh Allen era.
How about the Washington Commanders?
Well, the Washington Commanders were one game away from the Super Bowl in year one of the Jayden Daniels era. It was a sensational season and a massive success. Now heading into the 2025 NFL Offseason, Washington is going to turn into a free agent destination - people will want to come play with this QB and for this top-notch coaching staff.
They have a ton of cap space to spend and have every reason to be insanely aggressive in free agency. Jayden Daniels himself may have already put the league on notice as a top-10 QB at the worst. Heck, Daniels is probably better than the QB he went up against in the NFC Championship Game.
I am not sure how Commanders' fans felt after this game - sure, the loss was brutal in a bottle, but when you shatter that bottle and look at the big picture, this was a historically good season for the franchise. And it really does go to show you just how quickly a coaching staff and franchise QB can turn the season around.
To a lesser degree, the Denver Broncos did this in the AFC this year. They won 10 games and made the playoffs for the first time since the 2015 NFL Season. We'll see how the Commanders approach the coming offseason, but they will now have a huge contention window open up for the franchise, and GM Adam Peters is probably going to have a field day with what he can do.
It is a totally new era for the Washington Commanders - this franchise is now among the best in the NFL and should have a very prolific and successful future.