Tress Way has seen a lot of losing in Washington, but he’s also seen one playoff berth in the 2020 COVID season – but even though that one came in the first year of the Ron Rivera era and was a division title, this one just feels a lot different.
“I think the coolest thing has been all of the excitement and all of the positivity from the start of this year; we had the whole ownership change, and then we land Adam Peters and we go out and we get DQ and then we draft Jayden – there’s just so much positivity that just kept piling up,” Way told Chris Russell Monday. “It is just so perfect and so awesome that it’s already led to an 11-win season and we clinched the playoffs. It’s very exciting to know that it's almost 2025, the new year, and we still kind of feel like we're still getting rolling. Like, we’re not done with ball yet, and it’s just so great.”
To a man, every Commander you talk to will talk about the culture Dan Quinn and company have brought to the locker room, and that’s also why none of this success is too much of a surprise for a veteran like Way.
“I think that is just the unbelievable skill of AP and the front office, and the guys that they got in free agency and the studs that we had drafted, and how this team is formed,” Way said. “And, how DQ approaches us every single week on how we're gonna approach our opponent, what we're gonna do, what are our strengths, what do we got to watch out for? Everything is so dynamic, it’s always changing and moving in a good way and adapting. DQ is always big on boxing matches and UFC fights and things like that, and I think he enjoys like the game within a fight and the strategy within that, and changing and adapting and counterpunching. We just always expect to be in that fight, and when push comes to shove, you just got to be able to go out and actually win the game.”
And you have to give some love to Way who, in a season where he’s gone weeks without punting, had a couple of huge boots Sunday night that flipped the field when the Commanders needed it the most – including a 61-yarder where Percy Butler made a huge tackle to pin the Falcons deep in their end.
“You’d think after 11 seasons I’d know how to do that pretty much every time, but the wind wa just whipping towards our sideline, and for a lefty, that's just begging for you to slap it right off the side of your foot,” Way laughed. “But I know I got the best coverage guys on planet Earth, I’m just gonna try and not do too much, just send one out here and let Percy Butler go hunt. As soon as it came off my foot, I was like, oh, that’s gone, and it just took off – and Percy was double-teamed on that play and still pins them inside the 20. That guy’s like a cheat code, and he is fun to watch…he’s a nice guy but a bad man! But credit to Coach Izzo and the guys, how they’re coached to just compete and play fast and free and physical. What you want on special teams is to create momentum plays, and that's all we want to do in that moment.
That was fun to see everyone fired up.”
Especially him, as he’s on a winner for the first time in his decade here.
“I think the coolest thing is that right after Mr. Harris bought the team, he had a bunch of the veterans in for a lunch, and he just said, ‘we're gonna come in here, we're gonna do some special things, we're gonna do some fun things, like we're gonna really change it around, but the one catalyst to all this is if you guys go out and you win. If you guys go out and you take care of business on the field, he goes, let me handle all the other stuff,’” Way said. “He talked about growing up as a fan, the memories and the pride, and it was so cool how intentional he was, It wasn’t like he was just throwing these ideas out or wishful thinking; he said he’d do his part and we’d do our part, and he’d find the right people and put the right people in place. I’m getting chills thinking about it, and last night, that environment, the fans still excited when we go into halftime down 10, that was special to be a part of.”