ASHBURN, Va. -- Don't call the Washington Commanders underdogs, at least not to coach Dan Quinn's face.
"One of my favorite DQ quotes is he hates the words, 'being underdogs'," Commanders receiver Terry McLaurin said of his coach. "I think (it was) Tampa, the first time we played them, somebody the comment like, 'You guys will get them next year, you guys will get them the next time,' and he's like, 'Nah, screw that, we're going to get them this time,' and I love that because it's a no-excuse mentality."
Of course, Washington didn't get Tampa Bay the first time, the opposite happened. And McLaurin had just two catches in the Week 1 matchup, gaining 17 yards in the process.
In that first matchup, the mentality of winning being that thing that the Commanders do was an idea. Over the weeks that followed, it became a thing they did.
When the two sides matched up again in the Wild Card Round McLaurin had 89 yards and a touchdown. The receiver who has fully embraced the 'Scary Terry' moniker this season not only set a franchise record for touchdown catches, he helped ship the Buccaneers off to the nightmare land of early NFL vacations.
In the Divisional Round McLaurin had another 87 yards receiving and another score against the Detroit Lions and helped dispatch the No. 1 seed in the NFL to the same fate as the Bucs before them.
That is what McLaurin does, as part of what Washington has been doing. And it's what he and his teammates plan on continuing this weekend against the Philadelphia Eagles.
"When (Quinn) says, 'This is just what we do,' we're living that right now," McLaurin continued. "This is a huge game-biggest game that I know I've played in my career; a lot of us have played in our careers, but my emotions about this game is, 'This is just what we do, this is what we've been doing all season.' So, you don't have to get up and get emotionally hyped or do anything different or extra this week because we've been prepared like a championship game each and every week of the season."
Stick with CommanderGameday and the Locked On Commanders podcast for more FREE coverage of the Washington Commanders throughout the 2024 season.
* Commanders Focus On Eagles Saquon Barkley Ahead Of NFC Championship
* Next Gen Stats: Commanders' Top Receivers Stood Out in Divisional Round
* New York Jets One Step Closer to Stealing Commanders Executive