Dan Quinn made the correct fourth-down decision each time

Washington Commanders head coach Dan Quinn's aggressive play calling is the reason the Commanders are moving on in the NFL Playoffs. Four times the Commanders faced short-yardage fourth downs in Buccaneers territory, and four times Dan Quinn elected to go for it.

In the playoffs, many coaches' philosophies are to just take the points, but if the Commanders had taken the points each time, they might not have been in position for a game-winning field goal.

The Commanders faced a fourth and 2 on the Tampa 20-yard line, fourth and 1 on the Tampa 23, fourth and goal on the Tampa three and fourth and 2 on the Tampa five. If Washington kicked a field goal each time they would have netted 12 points, assuming they all went it. Instead, they failed twice and converted twice leading to two touchdowns, scoring 14 points.

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Converting at a 50% clip on fourth downs is the expected rate and that's what happened on these four attempts. The analytics worked in the Commanders' favor, but if they didn't Quinn would be having to answer some tough questions Monday.

However, there's one stat that probably increased Quinn's level of confidence in choosing to go for it each time. During the regular season the Commanders went 20-for-23 on fourth downs, the best conversion rate of any team in the Super Bowl era. They went 3-for-5 on Sunday night and Terry McLaurin's go-ahead touchdown was on fourth down.

McLaurin's fourth-down touchdown was massive, giving the Commanders the lead back before the Buccaneers tied the game with a field goal. Rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels, who will likely win offensive rookie of the year, drove the Commanders down the field into the red zone, setting up a Zane Gonzalez 37-yard field goal that doinked off the upright and went in, giving Washington a 23-20 win and its first playoff victory since 2005.

The win sets up a showdown of gutsy head coaches in the Divisional Round. The battle of the Dans, Dan Quinn and Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell. Which Dan will be more aggressive when Washington and Detroit meet for the fourth time in the playoffs? We'll find out on Saturday at 8 p.m. on Fox.

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