When was the last time Washington Commanders won a playoff game? Exploring franchise's history in NFL Playoffs

The Washington Commanders became the first lower-ranked seed to upset a higher-ranked team in the Wild Card Round of the NFL Playoffs after a nervy 23-20 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

There were some questionable decisions made on the gridiron on Sunday night by both teams but the Commanders held their nerves to pick up the W and go all the way to the Divisional Round. Regardless of what happens when they take on the well-rested Detroit Lions, who earned themselves a bye with the first seed locked up, congratulations will be in order for Dan Quinn and his coaching team as they ended the NFL's third-longest playoff drought.

"It means a lot. Our fans are over there waiting for us. They've waited a long time for this feeling, so I'm just so happy for them," Daniels said during a postgame interview with NBC.

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When was the last time the Washington Commanders won a playoff game?

The last time Washington managed to pick up a win in the playoffs was 19 years ago when they faced the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the 2005 season. At the time, rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels was five years old. Those, of course, were the Sean Taylor days.

Washington entered that season after going 6-10 the year prior and made a series of changes to be competitive. Interestingly, they lost former Las Vegas Raiders head coach Antonio Pierce to free agency that year back when he was a linebacker in the league.

In any case, Washington showed that it still had the spirit to be a competitive team as their offseason changes paid off. They went all the way to the playoffs and beat the Buccaneers in Tampa Bay 17-10 in a wild-card game on Jan. 7, 2006.

With Washington's playoff win drought done with, that means it's the Miami Dolphins' turn to snap their drought. Miami's last playoff win came against Peyton Manning's Indianapolis Colts in the Wild Card Round in 2021. Next season will be the Dolphins' 25th year since their last playoff victory.

The Las Vegas Raiders are next in line with their drought stretching back to 22 seasons. The Raiders have made the playoffs just three times since losing Super Bowl 37.

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Who will the Washington Commanders face next in the NFL Playoffs?

Dan Quinn and his coaching team will have to keep an eye out for Detroit Lions OC Ben Johnson's bag of tricks when the two teams face off against each other in the Divisional Round on Saturday, January 18.

The Lions had the luxury of taking an extra week to rest up and recover after a gruelling season that saw their defense decimated by injuries.

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