[Sports]Hope for old DC: The Washington Commanders return to the playoffs ready for a new era

[Maheso]

Even from the top of section 412 – the standing room area that’s about as far as one can get from the battle taking place between the Washington Commanders and the Atlanta Falcons – Northwest Stadium is a cauldron of noise.

On this rainy, unseasonably warm December night, the Commanders are playing in the weekend’s premier game and aiming to clinch their first NFL playoff berth since the 2020 season. Here in the upper reaches of the stadium, the wind whips the rain into the faces of fans as they roar, creating a din that only gets louder as the Falcons’ offense takes the field for the opening drive – somehow ratcheting up even more when the Commanders force an interception. It’s the kind of atmosphere that marks a big game in a football town that is once again getting used to them.

The scene could not be more different than that Covid-19-afflicted campaign four years ago. The team then had a different name and a losing record, even though it won the NFC East division crown. There were no fans in the stands that season – only cardboard cutouts that made no noise and showed no emotion.

There’s noise in Landover now, and it sounds a lot like hope.

There are many reasons for that hope. From the front office to the field – and even to the halls of Congress – there are signs that football in Washington, DC, is once again being revived. More importantly, there is true belief that this revival can actually stick.

The 12-5 Commanders are coming off their best season since 1991 and take on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (10-7) at 8 p.m. ET Sunday in the penultimate game of the Wild Card round of the NFL playoffs. It’s another primetime slot for a franchise looking to advance past the first round of the playoffs since the 2005-06 season.

But regardless of what happens against the Bucs on Sunday, this season already qualifies as a success – and a potential turning point – for the Commanders. Tress Way, the team’s punter and most-tenured member, believes the recipe is simple.

“I feel like even more than just like clinching the playoffs, it’s more of like – winning, I guess,” he told CNN Sport in the locker room after the Commanders beat the Falcons to secure their spot in the postseason.

 

https://edition.cnn.com/2025/01/09/sport/washington-commanders-nfl-wild-card/index.html