The Washington Commanders are already a big winner because of Jayden Daniels

Fans of the Washington Commanders are partying like it’s 1991. Regardless of the outcome of this weekend’s NFC Championship Game, this former laughingstock of a franchise has emerged as one of the biggest winners of the playoffs.

The future looks bright after Year 1 with a new head coach and a rookie quarterback. This might be the worst roster Jayden Daniels will play with for the rest of his promising career. He’s excelling at the highest level for a first-year player and will improve with more experience. Assuming he doesn’t get hurt, the Commanders could be poised to rule the NFC. The league’s best quarterbacks, Patrick Mahomes, Lamar Jackson, and Josh Allen, are all in the other conference. It’s a much easier path in the NFC, where no other team has a young talent as promising as Daniels.

In a salary-cap sport, the most valuable thing you can have is a great young passer on a cheap rookie contract. Daniels’ cap-friendly deal looks like the best bargain in the sport. It will allow Washington to devote more resources to bolstering his supporting cast. That means having coveted financial flexibility to surround Daniels with additional weapons and better defensive players through free agency. That’s scary for the rest of the league. This isn’t a Brock Purdy situation where Mr. Irrelevant benefited from a stacked roster that made him look better than he is.

Another benefit of having a good young quarterback? Your team becomes a free-agent destination. Players are more apt to sign with winning teams, and established veterans are sometimes more inclined to agree to below-market or short-term deals. Everyone can see how Daniels helped bring out the best in Terry McLaurin, who finally had an above-average quarterback to work with. As a result, McLaurin had a career-high 13 touchdown catches, exceeding his previous career-best of seven set in his rookie year of 2019. Daniels’ presence could also attract pass rushers and second help since opposing teams might be forced to play catch-up and be in more obvious pass situations.

This season, Daniels has had to overcome a defense that was middle of the pack when it comes to total yards allowed (334.9 per game, 16th) and points allowed (23.3, 18th). Washington head coach Dan Quinn is one of the most respected defensive minds in the league. He has probably maxed out the talent on this roster. In the future, the Commanders will have better defensive personnel. Despite those limitations, they got five turnovers in their upset victory over the top-seed Detroit Lions. For the season, they only had 17. Still, they gave up 31 points. That’s a lot of pressure on your quarterback. A better defense will make life easier for Daniels.

Improving the defense will be key, especially since Washington didn’t win the NFC East. The Philadelphia Eagles are better on both sides of the line of scrimmage than every other team in the league. The Commanders have to find a way to close that gap. The teams split the regular-season series with Daniels throwing 5 TD passes in a 36-33 victory last month. However, it’s important to remember that Jalen Hurts left that game early due to a concussion.

Will the Commanders have enough to pull off another upset this weekend against Philadelphia and reach the Super Bowl for the first time since the 1991 season? Even if they lose, they’re already a big winner because of Daniels.