Not even their wildest dreams would the Commanders have thought of this season. Like you just finished last season with a 4-13 record and got yourself a No.2 overall pick. That helped you sign the reigning Heisman Trophy winner, Jayden Daniels. Then you sacked your GM, Ron Rivera, and brought in Adam Peters to take over. And that’s not all. Dan Quinn was announced as the new head coach coming in from the Cowboys after serving as their DC for 3 seasons. So, with every bit of change, the Commanders were probably looking for at least a better season than last year.

But look at them now. Where they currently stand has definitely surprised the whole of the NFL. And former Eagles center Jason Kelce is one of those who didn’t see this coming from miles away: “I have not expected the Commanders’ team to be at this point all season long. I think that they have a tremendous quarterback who’s played really well as a rookie. And their coaches have done a phenomenal job.” However, Jason Kelce’s primary motto on the Sports Radio WIP wasn’t subjected to just praising former NFC East foes.

Let’s just say he had an interesting take on his former team. One that may not go down well in the eyes of Washington. “I’ll be very candid. I think the Eagles are better at every position. Like I don’t know if there’s one position if you put the two rosters. The depth charts next to each other that I would take the Washington player over the Eagle player. And that is a very honest assessment.” Some of you might want to call out Kelce for his Eagles bias. Rather, let’s see how right he is.

Starting off with quarterbacks—Daniels may have the upper hand right now. But then the Eagles haven’t lost a game since September 29th, that is, if Hurts started. Looking at the postseason, Daniels’ 4 TDs and 567 passing yards ranks at the top of playoff numbers. And don’t forget those wins against the Bucs and the Lions that were away from home, unlike the Eagles. Now, if you go about their running game. Of course, the Eagles have the trump card in Saquon Barkley. His 205 rushing yards last week and two scores on the ground proved to be the decisive factor against the Rams. So, stopping him will require something special from the Commanders.

See, the narrative right now is that the Eagles are a run-oriented team, and that’s true. Hurts has only thrown for 259 yards, and his TE, Dallas Goedert, leads the receiving corps with only 103 yards in the playoffs. As for the Commanders, their 283 passing yards per game rank first among all the teams still fighting for the Super Bowl. There goes the offense, where both teams have a slight edge over each other in certain junctures.

You might be wondering, what about the defense? Well, the Eagles have the No.1 total defense in the league while having a top-5 pass defense. Their CBs, Quinyon Mitchell and Darius Slay, have only allowed 55% pass completions. This means Daniels needs to be wary of the Eagles’ cornerbacks, who could make life difficult for him in completing passes. Judging by the comparisons, some of you may feel the Eagles do have an edge. However, let’s not forget this was a Commanders’ side that was dismissed early into the season. And that didn’t go down well in the eyes of Dan Quinn.

Dan Quinn wants the league to take notice of his Commanders

Remember how the Commanders opened their season with a loss to the Bucs 37-20? Well, at that time, someone close to Dan Quinn told him, “Hang in there. It’s going to be a long time.” But Quinn wasn’t taking any of that BS, “I was like, Hey F you. That’s not how it’s going to go down. It wasn’t disrespect. It was dismissiveness. And I felt some kind of way.” 

Well, Quinn always knew his Commanders were destined for something great, “It was we’re going to be a lot better than what we just showed today. And eventually, we’ll show that.” Fast-forward to week 20, the Commanders didn’t just prove everyone wrong. They have simply stopped them from building any negative narratives about them.

This is a Commanders team that broke their playoff hoodoo since 2005 against none other than the Bucs.

Then, it went on to defeat the Lions, who were clear favorites coming off a bye-week and a 15-win regular season. However, with the Eagles game coming up and a Super Bowl appearance in line. Terry McLaurin, who has been with the team for the last 5 seasons, still isn’t ready to blow off the confetti yet: “Nobody is celebrating. The job is not done.” Yeah, maybe the job is not done, with two games still to go for that shiny Vince Lombardi Trophy. But the Commanders do have that hunger in their stomachs to probably go all the way in the coming weeks.

And even if they don’t win on Sunday—this season will live long in the memories of Washington.