Jonathan Allen has been through so much with the Commanders.
He was drafted in the first round (17th overall) in the 2017 NFL draft. He had never been a part of a winning season until this 2024 season.
He has seen players, coaches, and staff come and go, even new owners.
On Sunday, following the Commanders’ 23-20 walk-off win over the Tampa Bay Bucs, Allen thanked Dan Quinn in the locker room.
“I have to give a lot of credit to Coach Quinn,” Allen said. “When you have a leader who can see the vision, who can see the forest for the trees, is consistent and stays with his messaging to the team week in and week out, it’s hard not to improve.”
Jon Allen in on this TFL pic.twitter.com/xH7w7TPHoE
— Mark Tyler (Hogs Haven) (@Tiller56) January 13, 2025
Allen voiced his frustration in the locker room last year following an irritating 14-7 loss to the NY Giants on the road. It was as if that loss was all Allen could take. It was as if the volcano had reached the stage of eruption.
Sunday night, he continued to praise Quinn. “The staff he put together, he and Mr. Peters (Adam), is awesome.”
When asked about rookie Jayden Daniels, Allen responded as if he had just come out of a one-on-one with his former Alabama HC Nick Saban. It was classic.
“The hard part about being a great player is you do great things so often, you get used to it,” Allen said. “You come to expect it. For him to surprise us, he would have to do something probably unheard of. I mean, the way he played tonight, I mean I know he is a rookie, but to be honest no one on this team looks at him as a rookie.”
More from Allen on Daniels.
“He is the face of the franchise. We know what he brings. We know what he does. He is humble; he works hard. Nothing that he did today surprised us.”
His last words to the media were, “Thank you, I appreciate it.”
After returning from a partially torn pectoral muscle to be part of his first winning NFL season and play in his first NFL-winning playoff game, Jon Allen is undoubtedly thankful and appreciates his opportunity.