Terry McLaurin and the Washington Commanders found themselves four minutes and 41 seconds away from overtime. But the wide receiver and the Commanders weren’t thinking about going an extra period. Or reflecting back on past NFL playoff futility from Washington.
McLaurin, playing in only his second-career postseason game, saw no flinch or surrender with 4:41 left. He instead saw a team built to win in the final moments, despite their playoff inexperience. Washington put together one last final drive to win 23-20 in the closing seconds.
The Commanders hadn’t won a playoff game in nearly two decades. They squared off against a team that last saw Baker Mayfield lead them to the divisional round. McLaurin and Washington even stood inside a venue with two Super Bowl banners emblazoned in front of the Commanders.
McLaurin went back in un-intimidated, though. The WR saw a team already tailored made for sealing a road playoff win. He dropped that truth bomb after the game, per Fox Sports NFC South reporter Greg Auman.
“The confidence is extremely there — the confidence for us to know what we have to do,” McLaurin said. “The confidence to know the timeouts, know the situation, we didn’t just do this in practice but throughout the season. We’ve built confidence over the course of time.”
Terry McLaurin and Commanders are finishing consistently now
McLaurin led the aerial charge with seven catches. He tied Dyami Brown with 89 receiving yards. But McLaurin executed the crucial catch that put Washington in front late: The five-yarder fired by Jayden Daniels on a fourth-and-two.
The 29-year-old delivered that catch to make up for a previous botched fourth down red zone attempt. That scoring grab became his second-to-last catch of the evening.
McLaurin last lost to this same team during his first playoff taste back on Jan. 9, 2021 at his home of FedEx Field. He then played on Commanders teams that struggled to finish off games. Times are different now in the nation’s capitol.
Last year’s Commanders went 3-5 in games decided by a touchdown or less. But the 2024 team went 8-2 in those same games during the regular season. They carried the renewed finisher’s mentality inside Raymond James Stadium.
McLaurin for too long racked up 1,000-yard campaigns and 70-80 catch seasons without a playoff win. He fielded those same results with a different quarterback and through coaching changes.
He’s now lining up for a team created to finish drives, then seal wins with a renewed confident approach. That growing confidence just rewarded McLaurin a long-awaited first playoff win.
