We are one game away from the Super Bowl. It still doesn’t feel real but here we are. Still alive. There are a lot of nerves surrounding tomorrow. It’s about all I have been able to think about this entire week. The house money, Cinderella story line was fun while it lasted but I don’t think it’s an appropriate narrative anymore. You have to come from nowhere to be called Cinderella. It doesn’t make much sense placing a 14 win team in this category.. From what’s been reported, this group doesn’t believe that to be the case at all. And why should they? We have yet to blink this year. We’ve proven we can win against anyone, anytime, and anywhere. And by the way, we have Jayden Daniels. This all leads me to ask one question. Why not us?
We just dog walked the best team in the conference on their own field. They all thought we were going to be a cake walk. A Lion’s fan vlogging at the game mentioned the anxiety pulsing throughout the stadium. I thought the people of Detroit were going to be boozed up and going crazy. I mean it was a Saturday night. The bar I was watching at was louder than Ford Field. I feel for the Lion’s fans. They are another franchise that has been through it. Now, they’ve lost both their coordinators and will have a lot to figure out this off season. It also didn’t help that their entire defense ended up getting hurt. I’m a fan of Dan Cambell, but after this one it’s obvious we have the better Dan.
The first half was a roller coaster. It was the perfect half of football for anyone who bet the over. It was like we were watching a college football game. I was told at one point the live over under was in the 80s. I’ll admit at the start of this one it was not looking good. The vibes when the opening kick went out of bounds were low. The Dorrance Armstrong strip sack was the play we needed to avoid things getting out of hand. We’re likely down 3-14 without it and instead we take the ball away and make it 10-7. They make it 10-14 with an insane one handed grab. Then, Terry opened it up taking a screen to the house from 58 yards out. All he had to do was duck his head and the green grass just opened up in front of him. Great blocking from Zaccheus and Dyami on that play.
I said in the last blog we might need some picks from Goff. He must have heard my request. The first one he air mailed his receiver straight into the hands of Quan Martin who took it to the house. A Quan Martin pick 6 was not on my bingo card anytime this season. The next drive, with Goff out of the game Jameison Williams took one the distance and followed it up with quite the celebration. I still think he should’ve been ejected for pumping three times. It was clearly excessive. Anyways, we responded yet again with a Zach Ertz touchdown. At this point it was clear, they could not stop our offense. If you haven’t watched the video of him mic’d up, then I highly recommend. Big time trust throw from Jayden. Lastly, Mikey capped off the half picking off Goff to send us into the locker room up 31-21. You can’t script a more exciting half of football than that. We were scoring at will and winning the turnover battle. Vibes were high at halftime. But with the Lion’s offense I wouldn’t say I was comfortable at all.
The second half wasn’t as exciting as the first. They brought the game to 3 points where it could’ve gone either way. Thankfully, they got cute with it and Mikey grabbed his second interception of the game. What a night from our rookie corner. Also, I don’t know why they thought letting Jameison Williams throw the ball was a good idea. But, I’m not going to complain about him lobbing one into triple coverage. Another player who hasn’t been mentioned and absolutely deserves a shoutout is BRob. Two touchdowns from our guy. I am no longer more confident in Mariota to get one yard than BRob. That 4th down play was a disaster. We are definitely better off with the ball in Jayden’s hands during those situations. One more player to mention is Dyami Brown. His playoff performances have come from nowhere and the timing couldn’t be any better. I tried to not get ahead of myself during this game. It wasn’t until we recovered the onside kick when I realized we would be playing for an NFC Championship. The Chinn interception was the icing on the cake. It did not help their case that they turned the ball over five times. That can’t happen in the playoffs especially when you have a defense like theirs and an offense like ours.
Everyone from DC clearly had a good week gambling. It’s hard not to when our guys cashed a +400 bet for us. The game being on a Saturday night was the perfect storm for an awesome night out. Detroit provided a lot of ammo leading up the game. It seems Philly hasn’t learned from their mistakes and has decided to take the same approach. One piece of bulletin board material that sticks out was Jason Kelce saying the Eagles are better than us at every position? I find it hard to believe anyone on this Earth who watches football actually believes Hurts is better than our guy. One thing I need to touch on is the Rocky statue. I do not believe a Redskins’ fan put the gear on it. An Eagles fan did it so they could post it everywhere and try to play the curse card. What Redskins’ fan in their right mind is giving up merch which can’t be bought anymore to dress up a statue?
Eagles fans are talking as if we haven’t already beaten them this year. They just want to make the excuse that it’s because Hurts went out. Seems like they were quick to forget how we turned the ball over 5 times and still won the game. Sure, say all you want about Kenny Pickett. I think everyone is aware he is a very mediocre quarterback. There’s a reason things didn’t work out in Pittsburgh. But it wasn’t his fault their defense let up 38 points and a game winning drive.
To get into the game, we have the better player at the most important position on the field. That is what games like this boil down to. Yeah, stopping Saquon is going to be a problem. It is a mountain we will need to climb. However, a drugged up Jalen Hurts is not the highest thing on my list of worries. I welcome him to throw the ball downfield because he’s good for at least one or two awful balls per game. Hopefully, we load the box and force them to beat us this way. Another thing to monitor is Lattimore on AJ Brown. Marshon played a hell of a game this past Sunday. We’ll need another performance like that tomorrow. I just ask the refs to keep the flags in their pants for this one. We can only worry about what we can control. We just need to play our game. Long possessions, take care of the football, and stop the run. Lastly, it wouldn’t be an outlook blog if I didn’t mention Luke McCaffrey getting in the endzone. It’d be an ideal day for our guy to grab his first.
Speaking to our offenses’ efficiency, we statistically have the best 4th down team in the history of the NFL. Our 4th down offense is more effective than the tush push. We rarely turn the ball over and do not beat ourselves. I’ve got a feeling we are in for a Jayden Daniels legacy game. With a win tomorrow, he will become the first rookie quarterback to ever start in a Super Bowl. He’s already shattered numerous records this season. Why not do one more thing that’s never been done again tomorow?
What this game means to the football fans of DC cannot be put into words. I’ve been watching this team since I can remember. It has been nothing but disappointment. Before this season, the most exciting moment this franchise has had in the last 10 years was Taylor Heinicke diving for the pylon. That is how bad we have had it. This fan base has been waiting my whole life for something worth rooting for. Many of us have watched almost every game wondering why do we put ourselves through this. Well, this is why. Because eventually a guy named Jayden Daniels walks into the building and instantly changes everything. Jeremy Reaves put it best in his Player’s Tribune write up. “Long fuckin tunnel. Bright fuckin light.”
If Dan Snyder was here, then none of this would be happening right now. That’s how karma works. It gives and it takes. A divisional rival stands between us and New Orleans. One game. You couldn’t have scripted it any better. Whether or not we come out on top, what a season it has been. All there is to say now is why not? I already have my plans in place for tomorrow. I will be watching Miracle to get my mind right in the morning. Hard Times wings and Dominos orders scheduled for 2:30. Everything is in place. Now let’s go out there and win a football game. Wishing everyone a great Saturday night. Looking forward to writing back about our first Super Bowl appearance in my lifetime.
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