The Washington Commanders have been one of the most surprising teams in the NFL this season.
They finished with just four wins last season and generally weren't expected to be much better once the 2024 campaign rolled around. However, they are 8-5 and control their playoff fate as they prepare to visit the New Orleans Saints on Sunday afternoon.
Washington rolled to a 7-2 record before enduring a three-game losing streak. The Commanders rebounded with a 42-19 home victory against the Tennessee Titans on Dec. 1 before having their bye last week.
"We needed some space to heal up and to get healthy," Commanders first-year coach Dan Quinn said of the brief hiatus.
Quinn was optimistic that the time off allowed his offensive and defensive linemen to get refreshed.
"In December and January football, the line of scrimmage is really the thing that leads the way, both sides," Quinn said. "So, to have these guys trending this way, at this time of year, and feeling better, that's a big deal."
Much of the Commanders' turnaround can be attributed to the play of 23-year-old quarterback Jayden Daniels, one of the top candidates for Rookie of the Year.
The Sunday game will be a homecoming of sorts for Daniels, who played at LSU the past two seasons after transferring from Arizona State. He won the 2023 Heisman Trophy with the Tigers.
"I played football down the road (in Baton Rouge, La.)," Daniels said, "and I was blessed to go to a couple of (Saints) games. It's going to be fun. The Superdome gets pretty loud."
It could also be a homecoming for Commanders cornerback Marshon Lattimore, who was acquired by Washington in a trade with New Orleans on Nov. 5. The four-time Pro Bowler has missed the past five games because of a hamstring injury sustained while with the Saints, but he practiced in full on Wednesday.
The Saints' quarterback situation is up in the air and likely will stay that way until the end of the week. Starter Derek Carr sustained a concussion and an injury to his left (non-throwing hand) in a 14-11 victory against the New York Giants last week.
New Orleans interim coach Darren Rizzi said Carr isn't expected to need surgery or go on injured reserve. Carr didn't practice on Wednesday, though.
Jake Haener, who replaced Carr against the Giants, and Spencer Rattler, who was picked by former coach Dennis Allen to start three games when Carr was injured earlier in the season, split reps at practice on Wednesday.
"They're both guys that throw the ball well, they're both similar size guys, athletic ability is very similar," Rizzi said. "There'll be some nuances in the game plan, depending on which guy starts, naturally. ... But it's not going to be this wholesale deal."
New Orleans is 3-1 since Rizzi replaced Allen, though it needed to block a 35-yard field-goal attempt in the final seconds of a sloppy performance in order to hand the reeling Giants their eighth consecutive loss.
"I've heard the narrative, 'Well, you didn't beat a good team' -- blah, blah, blah,'" Rizzi said. "We found a way to win. It was a blocked field goal. That's what we needed to win the game. We won the game."
The Saints enter the weekend just two games back of the first-place Buccaneers, and they conclude the regular season with a game at Tampa Bay.
New Orleans' Alvin Kamara missed practice on Wednesday because of an illness, but Rizzi said he expects the running back to play on Sunday.
