How the Commanders’ aggressiveness on fourth down embodies their revival

TAMPA, Fla. — On their opening drive Sunday night, the Washington Commanders marched down the field, stalled and faced a fourth-and-2 at the Tampa Bay 20-yard line. They went for it and threw incomplete, turning the ball over on downs but setting the tone for the rest of the night.

For most of the NFL, most of the time, fourth down is a punting down, a concession of failure, but not for the Commanders. They went 20-for-23 on fourth downs in the regular season, an 87% conversion rate that not only led the NFL but stands as the all-time best success rate for any NFL team with more than 10 fourth-down attempts in a season.

And on Sunday night, they lived and died on fourth down, with conversions leading to both their touchdowns in a 23-20 win, led by their unflappable rookie quarterback, Jayden Daniels.

"We're going to be bold, but not reckless," coach Dan Quinn said of his team's confidence in going for it — and succeeding — as often as it does. "I thnk that's who we are, the whole season. When you do get stopped early, you just have to stay the course, knowing that, Hey, keep your chin tucked and keep swinging, knowing that this is going to be a game that's going to go all the way down to the end."

Washington's second drive was an absolute grind, a 17-play, 92-yard slog that took more than nine minutes off the clock. The Commanders faced a fourth-and-1 at the Bucs' 23, and of course, they went for it, with running back Austin Ekeler converting with a 2-yard run. On third-and-goal, Daniels threw a touchdown to receiver Dyami Brown for a 7-3 lead.

Twice, the Commanders settled for field goals for a 13-10 lead, and in the fourth quarter, trailing 17-13, their fourth-down gambling cost them, as Washington went for it on