By Tyler Stepanian

FedExField. Home of the Washington Commanders. Photo credit: Flickr user dbking.

It was a cold December night with whipping winds as I drove through some random suburb of Maryland. In the car with me were two Collegiate alumni, my brother Jack Stepanian (’21) and his friend Carter Stokes (’21), as we tried to wrestle through traffic to our final destination, FedExField, home of the NFL Washington Commanders. It was a Sunday night, and we were on our way to the week fifteen must-see Sunday Night Football NFC East matchup between the Commanders and New York Giants. With playoff hopes on the line, the atmosphere was electric, with roughly 79,000 fans piling into the stadium. 

Earlier in the season, many did not predict Washington to be sitting in a playoff position following their rough 1-4 starting record, including two losses to NFC East opponents, the Dallas Cowboys, and the Philadelphia Eagles. Before the season, many Washington fans were optimistic due to the acquisition of former Indianapolis Colts quarterback Carsen Wentz as a potential solution to the drawn-out signal-calling struggle that had plagued the Commanders since the electrifying days of pre-ACL injuries Robert Griffin III. 

Wentz fueled the optimism with a strong first start for Washington, throwing for 313 yards, 4 touchdowns, with 2 interceptions in a comeback win against the Jacksonville Jaguars during week one. He followed this with another strong performance against the Detroit Lions in a week two loss, where he tossed for 337 yards, 3 touchdowns, and 1 interception, only adding to Commanders’ fans’ foolish optimism for the season. However, the following week, the wheels began to fall off for Wentz with an embarrassing loss to the Eagles, to which he recorded his jaw-dropping season-low Quarterback Rating of 11.4. This once again reignited the quarterback controversy that has haunted Washington for so long. 

Although a main factor in Washington’s mediocrity, terrible quarterback play is not the only thing that has haunted Washington since the turn of the millennium, or since the beginning of new ownership. In May 1999, billionaire communications and marketing mogul Dan Snyder purchased the then “Redskins” for a record 800 million dollars from the estate of Jack Kent Cooke.

Dan Snyder at the Commanders’ new team name and logo roll out on February 2, 2022. Photo credit: Joe Glorioso | All-Pro Reels.

Under the Snyder reign, the Commanders have been a shell of their former glory, only winning two playoff games in a twenty-three-year tenure that has been marked with constant controversy. According to Sporting News, The New York Times, and other publications, these controversies include the franchise making team cheerleaders “get naked for patrons” on an offseason trip to Costa Rica, 42 accusations of sexual misconduct and harassment towards former and current employees in the organization, Snyder hiring private investigators to get “dirt” on Commissioner Roger Goodell and other NFL owners, the change of the team’s name from “Redskins” to Commanders despite Snyder saying the name would “NEVER” be changed, and most recently a sexual harassment investigation by a congressional committee and the FBI into the Washington organization and the NFL. 

As a result of these scandals involving Snyder and his terrible mismanagement of the once-mighty organization, fans have grown to hate Snyder. Stepanian says that “because of my hatred of Snyder, it makes it much easier to be upset about other failures within the team. Although I am a die-hard fan, oftentimes, it is difficult to support the team because of the dark cloud Snyder’s mismanagement has cast over it.”

In November, Snyder hired Bank of America to “explore potential transactions” involving the team, to which Commanders fans everywhere rejoiced at the thought of the “dark cloud” being lifted with the end of Snyder’s ownership. But, since then, no new information about the sale of the team has been released until very recently, with a report that Snyder plans to sell at least “a majority stake in the team.” With the report also came a few names that could be potential buyers of the organization, including billionaire private equity investor Josh Harris, who owns the Philadelphia 76ers and New Jersey Devils, and Jeff Bezos, who previously said he wished to own an NFL franchise, and who already has a local presence as owner of The Washington Post.

Despite the atrocious start to the season, terrible quarterback play, and investigations and scandals involving ownership and the front office of the organization, the Commanders had managed to put together a decent season in the struggling NFC conference, allowing them to be in position for a playoff spot if they were able to play well in the final weeks of the season, thus making our SNF game versus the Giants a must-win. The fans were amped while they tailgated in the parking lot and flowed into the stadium, chanting the old team theme song and the new fan song that says, “Left hand up, who are we? The Commanders.”

In the first quarter, the Commanders put together a solid drive, capping it off with a 41-yard field goal by Joey Slye, putting them up 3-0 at the end of the first quarter. However, in the second quarter, as a result of poor play calling by the coaching staff and mediocre quarterback play by Taylor Heinicke, a monstrous strip-sack and score by the Giants rookie Kayvon Thibodeaux, and then a Saquon Barkley rushing touchdown, left the Commanders down 14-3 at the half. 

In the second half, Heinicke came out slinging the ball and connected with rookie Jahan Dotson for a 19-yard touchdown to end the third quarter, with the Giants leading 17-9. Then, at the beginning of the fourth quarter, the Commanders were able to put together a great drive and ended with a 51-yard field goal to make it a one-possession game. This, combined with hard-nosed defense by Washington, forced the Giants only to get a field goal, keeping it a one-possession game, giving Washington the ball down eight with 1:55 remaining. 

Every fan in the stadium knew that it was time for Heinicke to work some of his signature magic. He quickly got Washington into the red zone with a few seconds remaining on the clock. Giants fans were on their feet, screaming as loud as they could, trying to disrupt the Washington offense from scoring and potentially tying the game. Then, in back-to-back plays, questionable officiating with a missed pass-interference call cost Washington the game, giving the Giants the win. 

Hopefully, next year the Commanders will have found the solution at QB, and the franchise will be under new management.

Featured image courtesy of NBC Sports.