Jayden Daniels had a great rookie season. And that was before one of the biggest Hail Marys in NFL history happened.
Daniels and the Washington Commanders performed a miracle on Sunday. After falling behind the Chicago Bears 15-12 with 23 seconds left, all Daniels had to do on the final play was throw one as far as he could and hope. The ball was tipped to a group of players and somehow Noah Brown was there all alone in the end zone to get it for a 52-yard score and an 18-15 victory.
Daniels may have a long, great career and never have a moment like this again.
Before that final pass, it looked like Caleb Williams would overcome a bad day to give the Bears a game-winning drive. But Daniels still had one magic trick left.
“Keep fighting, man, we’re going to keep fighting,” Daniels told CBS’ Tracy Wolfson after the game. “We have a great locker room, a great brotherhood. There is no one else I would rather go to war with.”
Neither offense gets a TD before halftime
Daniels didn’t have a great first half, but Williams’ start was much worse.
The Bears were shut out in the first half. They had a chance to score late in the first half, but Williams was under pressure, tried to scramble, but was caught for a 15-yard sack. That knocked the Bears out of field goal position and they punted. That’s how the first half went for the Bears. Williams was under pressure or played like he was under pressure on most downs. He was rarely calm in the pocket. Williams completed just 3 of 8 passes for 33 yards in the first half. He rushed for 29 yards, but that was mainly when he escaped the rush. The Bears didn’t break the 100-yard mark of offense until well into the third quarter.
The Commanders were better in the first half, but couldn’t get into the end zone. Washington led 9-0 at halftime after a trio of field goals. Daniels didn’t look like he suffered a rib injury, leaving his status in doubt for most of the week. He was 10 of 19 for 154 yards and added 31 yards rushing. Playing through a rib injury, Daniels finished with 326 yards passing, 52 of which came in the final memorable play.
The first half went to Williams, but the Commanders still hadn’t built much of a lead. And the only thing anyone will remember from Sunday’s game is the last game anyway.
Bears are hanging strong
Washington finally seemed to get a touchdown on the board in the second half, but the moment was fleeting. Olamide Zaccheaus scored on a 32-yard pass from Daniels, but there was an ineligible flag on the field. The Commanders settled for another field goal and a 12-0 lead.
Then the Bears broke through. D’Andre Swift swept left, broke a pair of tackle attempts and raced down the sideline for a 56-yard touchdown. Finally, there was a sign of life after the bear offense.
The Bears made a big mistake that can’t be blamed on their starting quarterback. It was a coaching fiasco. The Bears reached the goal line and decided to handoff to offensive lineman Doug Kramer Jr.. The handoff to the 300-pound lineman failed and the Commanders recovered the fumble. That decision is difficult to explain. It would be a big problem at the end of the game.
The Commanders couldn’t put the game away. With less than five minutes remaining, the Bears had one more chance to win. Williams hit Rome Odunze for a first down on a key third-and-10. His scrambling paid off as he ran right and threw a 22-yard pass to an open Keenan Allen.
The officials helped the Bears on a fourth-and-3. Commanding cornerback Benjamin St-Juste grabbed Allen and that was deemed enough for a pass interference call that practically gave the Bears a touchdown. Roschon Johnson scored with 23 seconds left to give the Bears the lead.
It seemed then that Williams, despite his struggles, would emerge victorious. Daniëls disagreed.
