The Washington Commanders enjoyed one of the best turn-around seasons in major sports history in 2024. Following a 4-13 record in 2023 and no winning season since 2016, Washington finished 12-5 in the regular season and marched to the NFC title game before losing to the eventual Super Bowl champs.
There was a lot of change entering last season in the nation's capital, but it still made for one of the best seasons in recent memory. The Commanders were led by a first-year staff in head coach Dan Quinn, offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury and defensive coordinator Joe Whitt.
Perhaps the engine that powered the team's success was star quarterback and Offensive Rookie of the Year Jayden Daniels, who burst onto the scene as the No. 2 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.
But there might be one statistic that could explain Washington's meteoric rise...
The Commanders finished the 2024 season with an astounding 87% conversion rate on fourth downs. They went 20-23 when deciding to go for it!
ESPN believes that performance could go down as the most prolific fourth-down season in NFL history. Only two teams have had a better conversion rate since 2000 (2016 Cowboys and 2018 Chargers), but they each had 10 or fewer attempts.
Washington had double that. They converted a fourth down in 13 different games, five of which they did so either two or three different times.
That is because Washington's offense thrived on these conversions last season, and all indications show that their offense got even better this offseason.
In 2024, 23.7% of Washington's points were scored on drives that included at least one successful fourth-down conversion. That is the fifth-highest percentage this century. And it's a big chunk of points Washington will be relying on this season again.
Acquiring a versatile weapon in Deebo Samuel Jr and solidifying the offensive line with left tackle Laremy Tunsil are the headlining moves. Drafting a speedster like Jaylin Lane adds an interesting wrinkle to the fourth-down playbook as well.
Of course, having an elusive dual-threat superstar at quarterback helps here most of all.
This aggressiveness is impressive and all ... but is it sustainable?
History might say no, but if the coaching staff keeps a similar mentality, we can't find anything that says it couldn't happen again.
A statistic this absurd should obviously set the Commanders up for failure if they expect the same result this season, but anything can happen. If this frequency dropped to ... lets say 60% (or about 8 of 14), there might not be much of a dip in satisfaction.
As long as Washington is putting up points, nobody will mind how they come. Defenses beware.
