Speaker 1
On the final drive, you know, three for three, ran for a first down, 57 passing yards. His decision making. I mean, do you know how fast you got to be above the shoulders to do all this stuff? I mean, some of it's, you know, you're just kind of instinctive. Like, obviously, great athletes are just naturally gifted. But I've said this about some players in sports. Like, some guys, mean, LeBron broke into the NBA and he was such a smart player, had some limitations early on shooting from the outside, but he just had a feel for the game. This kid's making decisions in crisis, in a congested red zone that, I mean, like eight-year veterans make. I just, I can't tell you how impressed I am with Jaden Daniels. And I had said Friday on the show, I like Tampa to win. And the only way that I thought Washington would win, because Tampa's got a better overall roster, was if, you know, Jaden Daniels just performed magic. Yeah, he did. What was he, 24 to 35, 270 yards, two TDs, no picks, 11 rushes, eight for 15 on third down. I mean, and Tampa's defense is, you know, Vitavia up front. I mean, it's active. Todd Bowles likes, it's aggressive. Tampa's always been a little bit of an underrated place to play. It gets pretty rowdy down in Tampa. Now they're on to Detroit, which will be a real test for Washington. But I think what you're watching is all-time stuff. And I'm going to talk to John Middlecoff today about we've got a really good podcast that talks about Mike Tomlin, Mike Vrabel, Eagles Packers, Bills Broncos. At the end of it, 20 minutes, I think you'll be interested. John, a native Californian, his thoughts on the wildfires and the disaster in California. I think you'll really enjoy it. But I'm sitting there watching that game tonight. And I thought after that goal line stand by Tampa, that was a great goal line stand. I thought, wow, that's game changing. And then Tampa fumbles, Washington gets it right back, and Jaden Daniels throws a ball, a seed to the back of the end zone. But you got to give Dan Quinn the credit too, because Dan, you know, a lot of people would have struggled to go for it on fourth down. But that's very Dan Campbell. So Dan Quinn's a very aggressive guy. Dan Campbell's a very aggressive guy. You'll see Mike Vrabel do this in New England. Very aggressive guys. They're trying to create a culture, a culture of confidence, a culture of alpha, a culture of belief. And when you're as bad as Washington has been for this long, you've got to really change everything. I remember when Barry Alvarez took over Wisconsin, and Wisconsin was a bottom 10 college football program, and they had outdated facilities, and nobody thought Camp Randall was an intimidating place to play. And, you know, Barry Alvarez was like, you got to be proud. I mean, we are so lucky to have these facilities. And he really changed the way Badger players thought about Badger facilities and Camp Randall in the stadium and the environment. And he just instilled this pride and this confidence in Wisconsin or Wisconsin Badger football. And you can go back and look at it. You know, it took a couple of years, but I can remember him going to Rose Bowls and Wisconsin was just big, tough, physical, a little bit like Barry Alvarez, a lot of confidence. And I think that's what, and I think players become the coach. And I think, you know, Detroit, a lot of belief, say what you want about the Chargers end of the season, but the defense was tough and physical. And I think Dan Quinn has implemented that. That's why he's going for it on fourth down. It's like, hey, we've got nothing to lose. It's in Tampa. Baker Mayfield's a veteran. I got a rookie quarterback. I'm going for it. How's money here? And I love it. High pressure situations, obviously. And I had noted this multiple times, you know, there's kind of a rule when you get a rookie quarterback is downplay it in camp. Like, you know, hey, it's going to take a time. Let's reset expectations. When Dan Quinn and Cliff Kingsbury came out in camp and were like, yeah, this kid's unbelievable, already knows the playbook. I mean, it's unbelievable what a leader he is. You're like, and Dan Quinn's been around the block. And Dan Quinn was just heaping praise on Jaden Daniels in camp before preseason games. And you're thinking, man, this kid must be really, really special. And you read some of those early DC media reports, I did anyway, in the Athletic or in print. And you're like, man, this kid is tearing it up. It is camp. But it's not that Washington doesn't. McLaurin, Terry McLaurin's a great player, and they've got some defensive linemen. They have talent. Let's not make it the commanders don't have talent. But it's all centered around an aggressive coach and a remarkable rookie quarterback. And I've noted this a few times before. I grew up in the 70s and 80s, and Washington was a football power, and there was like a 30-year waiting list for tickets. This is a win-starved football community. DC loves its NFL football. And I just welcome back. This is great. Detroit is a big lift, but I think we're all watching an all-timer in Jaden Daniels. Mobility, release, accuracy, twitchiness. I mean, just to be this good in the fourth quarter and on fourth down and on third down in a playoff game, you just don't see this. You get all the upside, occasional picks, but you bake that in for somebody his age. You bake it in. What a performance. I mean, this is the first commander playoff win in 20 years. But they had talent for years, but they were so poorly owned and so poorly run and so poorly coached. Like they had players. It just upstairs was such a chaotic zoo. And the line is out. The Lions are minus eight and a half against the Commanders. That's a big number. But so was Buffalo over Denver. And so was Baltimore over Pittsburgh. I'm not sure which way I'd lean on that. To go into Tampa and win was something else. Finally got ourselves a close playoff game. A walk-off doink. And for Tampa, hell of a year.