Terry McLaurin drops a truth bomb on the Commanders’ winning streak

Terry McLaurin and the Washington Commanders they found themselves four minutes and 41 seconds away from overtime. But the wide receiver and commanders weren’t thinking about overtime. Or looking back at Washington’s NFL playoff past.

McLaurin, playing in just his second game of the postseason, didn’t see a fumble or surrender with 4:41 left. Instead, he saw a team built to win in the final moments, despite their playoff inexperience. Washington made one last drive to win 23-20 in the last seconds.

The Commanders haven’t won a playoff game in nearly two decades. They squared off against a team that last saw Baker Mayfield lead them to the divisional round. McClaurin and Washington even stood inside the venue with two Super Bowl banners draped in front of the commander.

McLaurin, however, returned undaunted. VR saw a team that was already tailor-made for a playoff win. He dropped that truth bomb after the game, according to Fox Sports NFC South reporter Greg Auman.

“The confidence is tremendously there — the confidence that we know what we need to do,” McLaurin said. “Confidence that we know the time-outs, we know the situation, we didn’t just do it in training but throughout the season. Over time, we built confidence.”

Terry McLaurin and the Commanders are now consistently finishing

McLaurin led the air attack with seven catches. He tied Dammy Brown with 89 receiving yards. But McLaurin made the key catch that put Washington ahead late: Jayden Daniels’ five-yarder on fourth-and-two.

The 29-year-old delivered that catch to make up for a previous missed tackle on a fourth-down attempt in the red zone. That catch became his penultimate catch of the night.

McLaurin last lost to this same team during their first playoff taste on January 9, 2021 at their home FedEx Field. He then played on Commanders teams that struggled to finish games. Times are different now in the nation’s capital.

Last year’s Commanders went 3-5 in games decided by a touchdown or less. But the 2024 team went 8-2 in those same games during the regular season. They brought the mentality of a renewed finisher to Raymond James Stadium.

McLaurin has gone too long with 1,000 yard campaigns and 70-80 catch seasons without a playoff win. He achieved the same results with a different quarterback and through coaching changes.

Now it’s time for the team to finish runs and then seal victories with a new confident approach. That growing confidence just rewarded McClaurin with his long-awaited first playoff win.