Because the Philadelphia Eagles already locked up the NFC East with a win over the Cowboys last week, the Commanders will need to travel no matter what happens in Week 18. The difference will be where they go; should they get a win at AT&T Stadium, they would remain in the No. 6 seed and travel to play either the Rams or Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who beat them in Week 1.
If the Commanders slip to the No. 7 seed, they will travel to play the Eagles, who will have a healthy Jalen Hurts and a well-rested Saquon Barkley. Washington did beat the Eagles two weeks ago, thanks to a last-second touchdown pass from Jayden Daniels, so they’ve proven they can be competitive against the Super Bowl favorite. However, playing at Lincoln Financial Field in a playoff environment would be difficult for any team.
The Rams and Buccaneers, while still talented teams in their own right, offer different challenges than the Eagles. A matchup against the Buccaneers would provide the Commanders with a good litmus test of how much they have grown on both sides of the ball, as Daniels was slightly thrown off by Todd Bowles’ blitz-happy defense and Baker Mayfield threw four touchdown passes in a 37-20 loss. The Rams, meanwhile, have won their last five games and been one of the hottest teams in the league after starting 1-4.
What Quinn cares about more, though, is the possibility, however small, that Washington could host a playoff game at Northwest Stadium. The next opportunity for that would be for the NFC Championship game, and several things would need to happen for that. Aside from Washington having to win out, the No. 7 team, which in this case would be the Green Bay Packers, would have to beat the No. 2 and No. 1 seeds. That means the Eagles, Detroit Lions and Vikings — all viewed as Super Bowl contenders — would have to lose.
Still, Quinn would rather leave the door open for the possibility than lose, get bumped down to the No. 7 seed and have to travel for each round of the postseason.
“Anybody…who had been at that game Sunday night [knows] that was home field advantage,” Quinn said. “It was. And it was loud, and it was intense, and it was awesome. That’s the type of support that when you feel it, you know it.”