The Commanders, who face the Eagles in Sunday's NFC championship game in Philadelphia, are a win away from becoming one the biggest preseason long shots ever to reach the Super Bowl.

The most enduring story of his fandom came five years before I was born, on Thanksgiving Day 1974. Washington lost to the hated Cowboys that day when a backup Dallas quarterback named Clint F***ing Longley (his full official name in my grandfather's eyes) led an improbable comeback and ruined the holiday.

The Commanders, who were 4-13 a year ago, a franchise of ill repute for a generation, are going to the NFC Championship Game next Sunday.