ASHBURN, Va. -- Washington Commanders coach Dan Quinn said he felt his team's potential was overlooked early in the season, but his response revealed a mentality that will help the team heading into Sunday's NFC Championship Game championship.

After a 37-20 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the season opener, Quinn said an acquaintance told him, "Hang in there. This is going to be a long time."

"I was like, hey you, this isn't going to happen," Quinn said. "It's not disrespectful, it's dismissive, I have some feeling... we're going to be better than what we just showed today. Ultimately we're going to show that. So it's not about proving it to other people or underdog stories. , that’s how we failed.”

After that loss, they went on to win 12 of their next 16 regular season games, as well as their first two road playoff games. That's why the Commanders (14-5) will play the Philadelphia Eagles (15-3) on Sunday at 3 p.m. for a Super Bowl berth.

Yet commanders still wonder whether outsiders believe in their success.

Rookie corner Mike Ceristeel said outsiders miss "how dominant we really are. I think we're underestimated because teams maybe think they're better than us or that we're a new team." But) whatever the outside noise is, it doesn’t matter to us.”

Then he looked at a sign painted on the wall that read: "Anyone. Anywhere. Anytime."

“We believe in what we say we are and that’s all that matters,” Cerysteel said.

Washington wasn't considered a title contender entering this season after going 4-13 a year ago, and perhaps not as deep into the season. The Commanders also have a new power structure, including Quinn and first-time general manager Adam Peters, as well as rookie quarterback Jaden Daniels.

Washington hasn't won a playoff game since the 2005 season. The team hasn't won 11 games in the regular season since 1991. That was also the last time the team won a division title. Since 2006, the team has had more name changes than playoff wins.

That fuels doubts that a turnaround can happen so quickly.

"At some point, I believe people are going to start believing in us," Washington safety Jeremy Chin said. "We're going to have that same pressure. That's how we go to work every day, guys in this building, The people in this building, the way we work, people can say whatever they want out there, we know who we have here and who we are."

But safety Jeremy Reaves, who has been with the organization since 2018, said the commanders were not motivated by misgivings.

"The noise from the outside can be a false narrative," he said. "When you have that confidence within yourself, it's a confidence that transcends every person in the building... Everybody has that belief. There's no false motivation from outside factors."

They beat Tampa Bay 23-20 in the first round on a last-second field goal. They defeated Detroit 45-31 in a raucous environment at Ford Field. Washington has won seven straight games, five of which came on the final play of a game or scrimmage.

They finished behind Daniels, who threw a combined 29 touchdown passes in the regular season and playoffs. In two playoff games, he threw for four touchdowns and no interceptions -- after throwing just nine touchdowns in the regular season. He has the NFL's best quarterback rating in the playoffs at 86.8.

Now he's trying to become the first rookie quarterback to lead a team to the Super Bowl. Five others lost in the conference championship game.

"He has a skill set that's rare right now that puts us in this position," Quinn said. "When the mental turmoil lasts for two minutes, in these tense moments, it feels very tense and he has more experience than a first-year player playing football. But we're not going to go into history man, is this how we get through this weekend?"

The historical part will be Washington overcoming nearly three decades of futility. From 1992 (the season after the team's last Super Bowl win) through 2023, Washington had the fourth-best winning percentage in the NFL.

But in Quinn's first meeting with the players last spring, receiver Terry McLaurin said he told them, "If you're a fierce competitor, this is the place for you."

"I'm sitting in my seat, smiling," said McLaughlin, who has been with the team since 2019. "That's what I've always wanted."

That's why, despite having long ago proven the outside world wrong about this season's competition, the Commanders are still not satisfied.

"No one celebrated," McLaughlin said. "The work is not done yet."