There were a few miracles on display during Sunday’s game for the Washington Commanders. The first miracle began with Jayden Daniels starting and finishing the game that few expected him to play in after he injured his rib(s) the week before in the first quarter. The second miracle was the Hail Mary throw by Daniels with no time remaining in the game to give the Commanders the walk-off win by a final score of 18-15 over the Chicago Bears.
With this win, the Commanders will keep their spot in first place in the NFC East into November with a 6-2 record. The first half was more about big defensive plays that kept stymying the offenses with no touchdowns scored to that point. The Commanders were up by a score of 12-0 into the 3rd quarter on four field goals. Then the Bears put together two touchdown drives to take a 15-12 lead and left the Commanders with only 25 seconds on the clock — and Washington only had one timeout remaining. Their odds of winning the game were between slim and none.
“Just threw the ball up to give my guys a shot and just heard people screaming and our sideline rushing the field — so, that’s how I knew.”
— Daniels said after the game
The Daniels final pass of the game was unloaded from his own 35 yard line and came down at the 3-yard line (62 yards in the air) and was tipped forward by about five yards into the end zone and the waiting hands of Noah Brown for what was officially ruled a 52-yard touchdown pass as time expired. The stunned home crowd of 64,704 in attendance saw a classic that sent the Commanders fans home happy from Northwest Stadium in Landover, Maryland.
In Hail Mary history, Daniels’ touchdown pass was the fifth go-ahead Hail Mary TD in the final 10 seconds since the NFL began tracking them in 2006. At 52 yards, it was the second longest only behind the Rodgers-to-Rodgers Miracle in Motown play against the Detroit Lions in 2015.
“That was wild. That was so much fun, and what I love about the team is that we’re never out of the fight.”
— Commanders head coach Dan Quinn after the game
The legend of Jayden Daniels continues to grow. Not only did he rush for 52 yards on eight carries, but he also threw for 328 yards on 21 catches — all with his rib injury. As of the early morning, the team kept everyone in the dark as to whether Daniels or Marcus Mariota would start the game.
This game was flexed to the late game on CBS with their No. 1 crew of Jim Nance and Tony Romo so fans could possibly see Daniels and the Bears’ QB1, Caleb Williams. While it wasn’t a high scoring game, and mostly a defensive stand-off — the ending was worth the price of admission for Commanders’ fans. Daniels bested Williams who only had 131 passing yards and a key fumble at the goal line in the 4th quarter.
Williams, the No. 1 draft pick, was chosen by the Bears, and a spot ahead of Daniels in the 2024 draft. Williams, the Washington-area native, looked like he was going to be the hero until Daniels heroics sealed the victory for Washington. Previously, it was Williams who was known for his Hail Mary winner while playing quarterback at Gonzaga High School in Washington, D.C. as he beat rival Dematha. That play was aired by CBS during the game.
Earlier in the game, Daniels made three passes that looked like touchdowns, and none of them were. One was called back for illegal man downfield, one ruled that Luke McCaffrey only had one foot out on a pass in the end zone, and one that Zach Ertz didn’t fully control on the ground in the end zone. Each time, the Commanders had to settle for field goals instead of touchdowns. That kept the Bears in the game which Washington had seemed to be in control of during the first three quarters. The Bears took their first lead in the fourth quarter with about 30 seconds remaining. The lead was short-lived due to the Hail Mary winner.
In Jim Nance’s words, “It’s a miracle.” While that miracle won’t get Daniels canonized in the religious sense of receiving sainthood, you never know in Daniels career if he will be Canton’ized with a Hall-of-Fame career. Even if he isn’t, that play will forever be on his career highlight reel. The true story of this rookie playing with the injured rib(s) and making the play of the year is the stuff of legends.
