Hope for DC: Washington Commanders start a new era of playoffs

Veröffentlicht:

Von:

Landover, Maryland - even the top rank in section 412 - the standing area, which is as far away as you can do in a game of Washington Commanders against the Atlanta Falcons-the Northwest Stadium is a boiler full of noise.

In this rainy, atypical warm December night, the Commanders play in the most important game of the weekend and strive for their first Playoffplatz in the NFL since the 2020 season. Here, in the upper ranks of the stadium, the wind whips the rain into the face of the fans, while cheering and a noise that becomes louder and louder when the offense of the falcons comes for their first attack on the field. The noise reaches a new level when the Commanders force an interception. This atmosphere is typical of big games in a football town that gets used to such events again.

hope in Landover

The scenery could not be more contrasting than during the "nofollow" target = "_ blank" https:/2024/31/health/covid-holiday-holiday-holde-us/index.html "> covid-19 four years ago. At that time, the team had a different name and had a negative balance, even though it won the NFC East Division. Fans were not in the stadium throughout the season - just cardboard displays that made no noise and showed no emotions.

Today, on the other hand, the atmosphere in Landover is characterized by hope. There are many reasons for this hope. Both in the office of management and on the field - even up to the halls of the congress - there are signs that football is revived in the Washington, DC. It is more important that belief has grown that this revival can actually exist.

a new generation of Commanders

The Commanders with a record of 12-5 come from their best season since 1991 and compete on Sunday at 8:00 p.m. ET against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (10-7)-in the penultimate game of the Wild Card round of nfl-playoffs . It is another prime time for a franchise that has not got beyond the first round of the playoffs since the 2005-06 season.

Regardless of what happens against the Buccaneers on Sunday, this season is already a success - and could be a turning point for the Commanders. Tress Way, the player of the team and the longest in the team, is of the opinion that the recipe is simple.

"I think it is more about winning than just reaching the playoffs," he said CNN Sport in the team, after the Commanders defeated the falcons to secure their place in the postseason.

The long dry spell

From the early 1980s to the early 1990s, the then Washington Redskins were the figurehead of the NFL. Three Super Bowl Championships in 1982-83, 1987-88 and 1991-92 as well as another appearing in the Super Bowl 1983-84. This meant that DC was one of the centers of the football universe. But after the Super Bowl in 1992, the bikes dropped off. The team made it into the playoffs in the year after its Super Bowl victory, but it took until January 2000 until another game took place in the PostSeason.

Since the last Super Bowl victory in the 1991-92 season, Washington has only returned to the playoffs eight times and only managed to go three times beyond the first round. Top -class and raised players came and went without bringing the fans in Washington. Moderate on the field was not only for the expectation, but also a new normality.

times change

After the death of the owner Jack Kent Cooke in 1997, the long -time fan Daniel Snyder bought the team, which initiated a time of frustration and disappointment, which finally discharged in a toxic atmosphere that went so far that The congress has switched on .

The franchise was under pressure to change its name, especially after the murder of George Floyd, which triggered mass protests against systematic racism. The sponsor of the stadium, Fedex, called for the team to change the name . Companies like nike, Amazon and Walmart for sale. In July 2020, Snyder finally announced that the name would be changed.

the current upswing

Under Josh Harris, the Commanders tried to distance themselves from the Snyder era. "The best way to do that is to win," said Way. The team has improved significantly since a 4-13 season start and fired its head coach Ron Rivera to sign a defensive mastermind that came from the Dallas Cowboys. With him there was a change of mentality that made the team difficult to defeat.

"We just fight and try to win," he said. "It may not always look like Scheme F, but the way DQ emphasizes us always makes us feel that we are in battle." After a victory over the Falcons, the Commanders won seven out of eight games, which brought a remarkable comeback in the DC region-Burgundy and Gold present themselves on clothing and flags in everyday life.

The new superstar: Jayden Daniels

The main reason for the newly burgeoning hope among fans is one player: the rookie quarters back Jayden Daniels. His heroic deeds this season have already made him the most popular player in Washington since the last young quarterback was on the field as a hopeful. His rise as a playing quarterback seems to have inspired a quick change for the Commanders, which inevitable comparisons with Robert Griffin III, the second-overall pick of the draft 2012.

Daniels, who plays with both arms and legs, shows impressive performances and has already broken RGIII's record for most rushing yards of a rookie quarterback. "I wanted Jayden Daniel to break my rookie-rushing record, because I am not the one who keeps his fingers crossed for the next generation. He deserves it," wrote Griffin on X.

A look into the future

While the fans are shaped by the memories of the painful injuries RGIIIs, Daniels shows that hope for the future will return. His impressive game in critical moments has the potential to sound a new era for the Washington Commanders. Fans and players agree that the team is on their way to get back to the top.

with a new stadium, a fresh team spirit and the hope of further success in the NFL game, Washington is at the beginning of a new chapter. The Commanders are back on the field, and the relationship between the fans and the team is reinforced by this running back with the name Daniel. The way forward appears promising.