Washington Commanders are Headed to NFC Championship, Jayden Daniels Makes History

Jan 18, 2025; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels (5) throws a pass during the first quarter against Detroit Lions in a 2025 NFC divisional round game at Ford Field. Mandatory Credit: Lon Horwedel-Imagn Images | Lon Horwedel-Imagn Images

The Washington Commanders made the right choice in selecting Jayden Daniels with the second overall selection in the NFL Draft, because with him tossing the football around, the team is headed to the NFC Championship game for the first time since 1991, the last year that they won the Super Bowl. Since 2006, Washington has made the playoffs just four times, and lost in the Wild Card round each time.

Before the season, Washington's over/under win total sat at 6.5, and the Commanders were +15,000 to win the Super Bowl. They'll be one of just four teams left with a chance to play for the championship.

After squeaking by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 23-20 in the Wild Card round, Washington was prepared for the No. 1 seeded Detroit Lions, outscoring the home team 28-14 in the second quarter, and 14-3 in the final quarter to end up winning by two touchdowns, 45-31.

Daniels ended up going 22-of-31 for 299 yards with a pair of touchdowns. One of those scores went to former Stanford Cardinal tight end Zach Ertz. Daniels also rushed 16 times for 51 yards.

Just get the ball to @ZERTZ_86 in the red zone and good things happen.

📺 #WASvsDET on FOX pic.twitter.com/35rtF6wzPc

— Stanford Football (@StanfordFball) January 19, 2025

Ertz ended the game with five catches on five targets for 28 yards and the score.

Daniels also surpassed former Cardinal Andrew Luck for the most yards by a rookie (including playoffs) with his 350 yards eclipsing the 190 he needed when the game began. Luck racked up 4,952 yards in his rookie season back in 2012. The record itself was broken on Daniels' 58-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Terry McLaurin.

The Commanders will await the winner of the Los Angeles Rams and Philadelphia Eagles game on Sunday. Washington and Philadelphia split the season series, with each team winning a close game at home. Coming off a big win against Detroit, the top seed in the NFC, the Commanders have to be feeling like it doesn't matter which team they end up playing next week.

Washington will still likely be viewed as the least likely to win the Super Bowl once the playoff field is set for next week, but given how they have performed in the playoffs thus far, it would be silly to count them out.