Washington Is Going To The NFC Championship Game
561 words.
I just want to take a moment here and acknowledge what we’re all thinking on this three-day weekend.
We now live in a world where Washington is going to the NFC championship game … and … looks competitive?!?
I would have said there was a better chance of Washington getting removed from the league for lack of trying than them winning in the playoffs ever again.
The last time Washington played in an NFC Championship was 1991. I’ve been to exactly one NFL football game in my life, and I’m pretty sure it was that 1991 NFC Championship game where Washington defeated Detroit by a million points at RFK Stadium (41-10). I can’t really remember, but I think my brother had won some tickets to the game. I remember thinking it was weird to see the broadcasters setup their little booth thing at the side of the field to do the halftime show, and they looked like tiny dots from the stands instead of filling up a television screen.
A CRT tube-based television screen, I might add. With only 480 NTSC lines.
I was still dialing into BBSs in 1991. I’d never been on the Internet. I’d never seen or heard of a cell phone, let alone a smart phone, or even an MP3 player, or even MP3s. Both of my parents were still alive (sadly for less than a year, and a few more years, respectively). I was programming in C and 68000 Assembly language on an Amiga computer, without an IDE monitoring my typos, without any Intellisense, without any unit testing, without any generative AI code assistance. Just looking up API documentation in a book, typing into a text editor, and running “make” afterward, like an animal.
Washington went to Detroit for last night’s Divisional game, two of the final eight teams in the playoffs. I was 100% sure that Washington was going to get demolished. Every sensible prediction had Washington losing by significant margins.
I’ve been watching Washington every week since December, and while they won their last 5 games to make the playoffs (frequently on the last possession), and they’ve shown some really good play, they’ve also shown complete meltdowns and occasional lapses in concentration which you don’t usually see in playoff teams.
But last night they won against Detroit. Decisively. Washington didn’t make mistakes. They stayed focused. They drove down the field convincingly on every possession. Last night felt like a totally different team showed up, a team that–dare I say it–deserves to be in the playoffs and the NFC Championship game.
I still think it’s a fluke. The letdown is inevitable. Despite being the #1 seed in the NFC, Detroit clearly wasn’t playing their best–they gave away five turnovers and half their team was injured. They would have lost to anyone, right? Washington’s defense isn’t that great and their offensive line isn’t that great, which are huge problems in the playoffs. It’s all a mirage.
It’s impossible to imagine Washington winning an NFC Championship game against either Philadelphia or the LA Rams. (But a tiny voice in the back of the mind whispers, “Washington did beat Philadelphia earlier this season.”)
It’ll take more than this to regain my trust in my grandfather’s beloved Washington franchise. But I’m watching with interest.
P.S. The only way to improve this weekend would be a humiliating Philadelphia defeat today.
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