Tag: Bowlwinning

When he first arrived in Washington, Mark Rypien quickly realized who was the most powerful person in town. And no, it wasn’t the president of the United States.

“It was the quarterback,” the MVP of Super Bowl XXVI said.

Rypien may be joking, but only to a point. At the once-storied organization’s peak, only a select few captured the city’s attention and brought an aura to the nation’s capital. They weren’t simply winners. They played for the NFL’s model franchise.

Hall of Famer Sonny Jurgensen was the first to experience this phenomenon. Jayden Daniels is the latest.

As laser-focused as he is, Daniels said he hasn’t had time to notice the fans and alumni still celebrating the franchise’s Sunday night playoff victory. But as the rookie quarterback and his Washington Commanders prepare for Saturday’s showdown with the Detroit Lions, three men with insight into Daniels’ situation are paying attention.

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Living through that Super Bowl era made the next three-plus decades unimaginable for Rypien and countless others who still “bleed burgundy and gold.” The 1991 team finished with a 14-2 regular-season record. Over the next 32 years, no other edition won even 11 games, something every other NFL franchise achieved in that stretch.

“No, I wouldn’t have fathomed a single ounce of that statement in 1991,” Rypien said.

There were glimmers of hope at quarterback in between. None stuck. After 1991, Washington started 35 quarterbacks over the next 32 years. Joe Theismann, a local and national voice following his career, watched them all.

“What quarterback has been the face of this franchise for all of those years?” the 1982 season’s Super Bowl-winning quarterback asked. “There hasn’t been anybody playing long enough for fans to get to know.”

Doug Williams, the lionized quarterback and cultural figure who won a Super Bowl between Theismann and Rypien, looks at past failures more diplomatically.

“It happens to a lot of people,” said the 1987 season’s Super Bowl MVP. “We just hadn’t found that guy.”

They have now.

Daniels is in the midst of perhaps the greatest rookie quarterback season in history. Not only Washington’s, but the league’s.

“The kid, we all know, is gifted. He’s beyond gifted,” Rypien said. “To be thrown into the fire right away and doing what he’s been asked to do is nothing short of amazing.”

The Washington franchise crumbled under the mishandling of the roster and the previous owner’s disrespectful notion of organizational management. Two team name changes and zero playoff wins (since the 2005 season) later, Josh Harris and his partners purchased the franchise in July 2023. Six months later, new football decision-makers were hired. Another three months brought Daniels to town. The Commanders finished the 2024 regular season with a 12-5 record.

Daniels’ thrilling and clutch performances more than helped end the drought of 11-win seasons and propelled the team to its first playoff appearance since 2020. The NFC’s sixth seed went on the road to defeat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 23-20 on Sunday night. On Saturday, the Commanders will play the No. 1-seeded Lions. The winner advances to the NFC Championship Game.

Washington fans and alumni haven’t stopped pinching themselves this week to double-check. Yes, this is real life. Theismann, the 1983 NFL MVP, said of watching Sunday night’s last-second win, “I’ve never been that excited in my life.”

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As the cliche goes, it takes a village to raise an NFL quarterback. Washington assembled the necessary staffers and created the environment to welcome Daniels. That included having someone around who has lived the high-pressure quarterback life.

Williams, 69, has been an executive within the organization for a decade. The senior adviser to general manager Adam Peters met Daniels in 2019, which was around the time Washington’s fan base went from angry to apathetic. The 18-year-old Arizona State freshman was invited to an African American quarterback seminar where the first Black quarterback to win a Super Bowl would attend.

Their connection strengthened when Washington selected the LSU Heisman Trophy winner with the No. 2 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.

“Without Doug, I probably wouldn’t be in this seat. He was a pioneer, trailblazer for all African American quarterbacks to follow,” Daniels said in October. “Him being a mentor to me since I got here, I can’t thank (him) enough for what he has done. Not only for me, for my family — so, so much respect and love for Doug.”

Williams is available for the rookie when needed but doesn’t hover over him or dole out unsolicited advice. There are coaches on staff paid for that. Williams catches up with Daniels when they pass each other at the team facility or travel for road games. Football is a peripheral topic for them.

Head coach Dan Quinn, who recently wore multiple T-shirts honoring Williams, a semifinalist for the 2025 Pro Football Hall of Fame contributor class, observes the quarterbacks bonding from a distance. Whether the conversations are about playing the position or being part of the community, Williams has a special lens for that.

“I think he is the best person to share that (with Jayden),” Quinn said.

That admiration is a two-way street. During the preseason, Daniels wore Williams’ No. 17 jersey to a game as a nod to his predecessor.

.@JayD__5 reppin’ Doug Williams pic.twitter.com/W2g9xkXFkV

— Washington Commanders (@Commanders) August 10, 2024

“You’ve got to give him props for respecting the game,” Williams told The Athletic. “Not only that, though: He respects everybody else. That’s the good part about him. Nothing he does is fake. He’s a good person. He’s a good human being. He understands who he is, what he is and where he’s at, and what he has to deal with.”

Unlike in Williams’ era, the subject of Black quarterbacks starting in the NFL isn’t as prominent today.

“We’ve had (numerous) starting Black quarterbacks in the league,” Williams said. “For me, I think we should’ve been past that by now.”

Daniels isn’t Washington’s first Black quarterback since Williams. Far from it. Among them were Robert Griffin III and Dwayne Haskins, two other signal callers the team drafted in the first round. Like with Daniels, Williams tried to be a mentor for them, as well.

“I think we got the right person,” Williams said of the presumptive Offensive Rookie of the Year. “We just got to add pieces. It’s all about the pieces you bring in. He upholds his part, and that’s the most important thing.”

Indeed, he has. On Sunday, Daniels became the fourth rookie quarterback to win his first playoff road start while leading his fifth game-winning drive this season.

It should be too early to think Daniels may join Theismann, Williams and Rypien as Washington Super Bowl-winning quarterbacks. But Daniels’ brilliant performances and ability to handle expectations won’t slow the hype.

“His play has shown everybody how you handle it,” said Williams, a classic pocket passer with a strong arm during a pro career spanning 12 years. “You talk about pressure. I’m a firm believer that Jayden, as an athlete, is going to put pressure on himself.”

Being drafted by a franchise amid a 30-year desperate search for a quarterbacking savior defines pressure. Not that the extraordinarily calm Daniels feels any.

“He won the Heisman Trophy, so you figure the kid can play,” Williams said. “When he was drafted, I saw him and said (of the new situation), ‘Keep playing and you never know what happens.’”

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Theismann watched Daniels lead Washington on the final drive in Tampa with his wife from their Memphis, Tenn., home. Yelling and screaming occurred frequently during the tense game. Kicker Zane Gonzalez’s 37-yard, game-winning, upright-kissing field goal had Theismann “literally jump out of my chair with elation.”

“I know what the feeling is for those players,” the 75-year-old Theismann said, “and I know what the franchise has been through for a long, long time. And I’m sure the fans felt the same way.”

Daniels acknowledged that he wasn’t sure what crossed his mind when Gonzalez’s kick fell between the uprights. As his teammates sprinted excitedly onto the field, Daniels remained on the sideline stone-faced as Washington won its sixth consecutive game and fifth on the final play from scrimmage.

Winning your first career playoff game? NBD @JayD__5 | @Commanders pic.twitter.com/7cy4oJlIPX

— NFL (@NFL) January 13, 2025

By now, Daniels’ poise has become a defining trait of Washington’s surprising season. He stays calm in chaotic moments, which in turn helps the rest of the roster. Wide receiver Dyami Brown said if “the quarterback is poised and in control, the rest of the offense is.” Throughout this season, Daniels has been able to manage tense moments for a team that is not used to being in them.

Theismann, the 1970 Heisman Trophy runner-up, is the closest stylistically to the first-time Pro Bowler’s dual-threat ability. Not that he had Daniels’ level of escapability and quickness, but mobility was central to Theismann’s game. He rolled out for passes and gained yards on the ground when needed.

The longtime analyst has football theories about how Daniels remains so calm under the bright spotlight.

“No. 1, you trust your teammates. You know they’re going to be there for you, the offensive line, the receivers,” Theismann said. “Secondly, for me, I always felt the bigger the game, the calmer I felt. It’s an interesting aspect of preparation.”

Daniels putting in hard work and beating teammates into the building with early morning arrivals became a storyline from the start. His continued use of virtual reality technology speeds up his target-seeking process while slowing down the actual game.

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Theismann said he sensed a “little bit” of nerves from Daniels while watching on TV.

“If you’re not antsy, you’re not human,” Theismann said. “Then he settles into what he needs to do.”

Daniels completed all three of his pass attempts on the game-winning possession. On third-and-2 from the Buccaneers’ 19-yard line inside the final minute, he outran defensive tackle Calijah Kancey to the edge and dove for the final first down before Gonzalez’s kick.

Receivers Terry McLaurin and Brown caught passes thrown their way for touchdowns. The defense, relatively fresh all night thanks to the offense controlling the time of possession, was opportunistic. Quinn and his coordinators called a strong game.

“However,” Theismann noted, “unless you have a quarterback, you can’t win. That’s a lock solid bet. If you have one, you have a chance. If you don’t, you have no chance. And we have one now that is special.”

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Daniels missed some passing opportunities against the Bucs but finished with a 68.6 completion percentage (24-of-35). That’s the highest for a Washington quarterback in a playoff game since Rypien (70.6) against Detroit in the 1991 NFC Championship Game.

There were blips of hope between Rypien and Daniels. Brad Johnson for a spell before he quarterbacked the Super Bowl-winning 2002 Buccaneers. Griffin’s rookie-of-the-year season in 2012. Kirk Cousins’ three starting seasons.

But those stints weren’t enough to mask overall frustration with the franchise that spanned decades.

“Many of us wish we were more welcomed than we figured we were,” Rypien said. “To say ‘the door’s always open’ with the previous ownership group was kind of a statement more so than someone really reaching out.”

That changed dramatically once Harris took control in 2023. Hall of Fame cornerback Darrell Green’s long-overdue jersey retirement ceremony occurred in October. The organization created specific alumni events to coincide with home games

Daniels acknowledged his “focus on the task at hand” limits the scope of his alumni encounters, “but we love having them around and showing their support and joy during the season that we’re having.”

Quinn, a New Jersey native raised in the NFC East corridor, loves having the alums around.

“To know where you want to go, you also have to know where you’ve been,” Quinn said. “That’s an identity that they had here for a long time.”

Rypien’s attendance as “Legend of the Game” for the Week 16 rematch against the Philadelphia Eagles meant an up-close look at the organization’s tangible and enthusiastic upgrades.

“The futility that we had been forced to watch for the last 32 years — along the way we’ve had a couple playoff runs, but nothing like this,” Rypien said. “The resurgence here … having an ownership that let the coaches and the football guys, Peters, Quinn and the whole football operations people do what they do, I think, has just been nothing short of amazing.”

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Rypien, 62, sees a return to the “culture” established under three-time Super Bowl champion head coach Joe Gibbs. He hopes that, combined with a potential new stadium inside city limits, “will set off a reaction around Washington, D.C. Now it’s just a matter of talent getting out there and doing it.”

He also, correctly, felt “there were too many green jerseys in the (crowd for) the game against Philadelphia.” That faction left the stadium miserable after Daniels’ fifth touchdown pass, a 9-yarder to Jamison Crowder with six seconds remaining, capped a 22-point fourth quarter as Washington rallied for a 36-33 win.

Rypien wouldn’t make any snap judgments on Daniels, the person, based on their brief conversation on game days. “But talking to people who know him, the type of kid he is and what he’s done his whole career is astonishing. It’s exciting.”

The rediscovered energy had Rypien wanting to attend the wild-card game. His upcoming labrum and rotator cuff surgery meant being home, as in his physical house. But for the first time in years, the franchise he helped reach the NFL pinnacle feels like a family again with Daniels as the newest quarterbacking relative.

“As a fan and as a Redskins-Commanders alumnus, it’s just been astounding to see what he’s been able to do on the football field,” Rypien said.

Everyone can make such assessments about Daniels. The three men, heralded as kings in these parts, understand the privilege and power of being Washington’s quarterback in ways nobody else can.

(Illustration: Demetrius Robinson / The Athletic; photos: Kevin Sabitus, Scott Cunningham, John Biever, Ron Vesely / Getty Images)