The New Orleans Saints went for a two-point conversion with no time remaining on the clock after being down 17-0 in the middle of the third quarter. Down 20-19, the pass from Saints quarterback Spencer Rattler went to the right and out of reach from tight end Juwan Johnson and the Washington Commanders left Caesars Superdome on Sunday with a 20-19 win and a 9-5 record.
How do you spell relief?
Commanders fans who have been fully engaged this season with an organization and team that have done a complete turnaround from years of mediocrity to a competitive playoff contender in the NFC, may have felt those old feelings of a nailbiter–intense anger, anxiety and frustration in the fourth quarter prior to the two point conversion. After the two-point conversion, it was time to breathe again. This Washington football team came one-step closer to a wild-card playoff game.
The Commanders continue their playoff run having won 9 wins after 14 games for the first time in 32 years, since Joe Gibbs was first head coach of the Washington Redskins in 1992. The Commanders not only clinched a winning season with Sunday’s win against the Saints but the team continues to exceed expectations. One more win could give the Commanders a ticket to the playoffs but more wins also bring higher expectations for the fans.
The Commanders were, well, in command of the game. Two touchdown passes of 16 yards in the first quarter and three yards in the second quarter from Jayden Daniels to Terry McLaurin gave the Commanders a 14-0 lead and a Greg Joseph field goal following the first drive of the second half put Washington comfortably ahead 17-0 by the middle of the third quarter.
The Saints defensive line had been playing the game with playoff intensity, especially former Commanders defensive end Chase Young who was particularly motivated for this game. And yet, despite 8 sacks for the game, the Commanders defense also held the Saints in Commanders territory for the entire first half—except once on a 29 yard pass play from starting quarterback Jake Haener to running back Alvin Kamara to the Washington 44 yard line. It was Haener’s first NFL start.
But in the second half following the Joseph field goal, backup quarterback Spencer Rattler entered the game to create a spark. Instead, he lit a fire behind the Saints team, driving the offense to the Commanders 21-yard line following a 39 yard pass down the middle from Rattler to Marquez Valdes-Scantling. At the Washington 21, Rattler threw a backward pass in the left flat to Cedrick Wilson, Jr., who threw to an open Kamara running down the right sidelines. Kamara reached out his arm, grabbed the ball in with one hand, kept his feet in bounds and gave the Saints life at 17-7 with over five minutes in the third quarter.
Rattler started three games in October and lost all three of those games but there is no better learning experience than on-the-field training. The momentum was clearly changing with the Saints offense as they started to show life with a defense capable of keeping Daniels scrambling and struggling throughout the day.
The Commanders offense and Daniels, however, continue to make the plays they needed and responded with a nine-play, 45-yard drive ending in a 41-yard field goal by kicker Greg Joseph to start the fourth quarter 20-7.
In the games that highly favored the Commanders, the team effectively went for the jugular and indeed put those games away at least early in the fourth quarter. Commanders fans may have thought it was time to begin comfortably watching the rest of the fourth quarter. But on this Sunday in New Orleans, an illegal use of hands penalty against Benjamin St. Juste wiped out a Dorance Armstrong sack of Rattler on 3rd and 10. And Rattler drove the Saints to the Washington 23 and a Blake Grupe 41-yard field goal kept the Saints in the game with a 20-10 score.
Twice during the fourth quarter, the Commanders went for the jugular on offense with long passes to a wide open Terry McLaurin who would have scored an easy touchdown. But both passes had little air under them and were overthrown by Daniels. A third long pass was underthrown. A completion on any one of those passes would have put the game out of reach. Instead, a Tress Way punt put New Orleans at their own 8-yard line behind by two scores.
A highly questionable roughing the passer penalty against Dante Fowler added 15 yards to a 19-yard pass play to tight end Foster Moreau and the Saints had the ball at their own 42-yard line. A 25-yard catch in the middle of the field to Valdes-Scantling put the Saints into field goal range at the Washington 33-yard line leading to a 51-yard kick by Grupe.
Despite the one-score lead and unexpected anxiety rising high for Commanders fans, it was usually that time of the game for the offense to drive down the field, run out the clock and kick a field goal for a two-score lead forcing Rattler to throw down field with no time outs.
But a holding penalty by guard Nick Allegretti at the New Orleans 33-yard line with 2:27 remaining in the game negated a Dyami Brown 23-yard catch for a first down at the 10-yard line. The drive stalled at the New Orleans 33 and Joseph missed a 54-yard kick wide right.
One touchdown behind and one timeout remaining, Rattler moved the offense down the field to the Commanders 1-yard line and with no time outs left and three seconds on the clock, Rattler threw a one-yard touchdown pass right to Moreau, making the score 20-19 and setting up the two-point conversion to win the game.
While the Commanders gave up nine sacks and had eight penalties for the day, they did make the plays they needed and had no turnovers against a formidable defense. Commanders cornerback Mike Sainristil had an interception near mid-field at the beginning of the second quarter and that turned into a touchdown to give the Commanders a 14-0 lead.
For a team like the Commanders, a win in December is a win and for the first time since December 2020, the Commanders have won two games in December. Next week, they’ll go for number three against the Philadelphia Eagles at Northwest Stadium. With no expectations for next week, it’s still the season and a win next week would be an early gift for Commanders fans.
Some might even call it a miracle!
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