Jayden Daniels was having a great rookie season. And that was before one of the greatest Hail Mary passes in NFL history.
Daniels and the Washington Commanders pulled off a miracle Sunday. After falling behind 15-12 to the Chicago Bears with 23 seconds left, all that was left for Daniels was to heave one as far as he could on the final play and hope. The ball was tipped among a group of players and somehow Noah Brown was there in the end zone all alone to grab it for a 52-yard score and an 18-15 win.
Daniels might have a long, great career and never have another moment quite like that one. Head coach Dan Quinn and the Commanders’ sideline reacted accordingly.
Before that final pass, it looked like Caleb Williams would overcome a bad day to pull out a win for the Bears with a game-winning drive. But Daniels had one magic trick left.
“Keep fighting, man, we keep fighting,” Daniels told CBS’ Tracy Wolfson after the game. “We’ve got a great locker room, a great brotherhood. Nobody else I’d 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 shot to score late in the first half, but Williams was under pressure, tried to scramble but got 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 either under pressure on most downs or played like he was under pressure. He was rarely calm in the pocket. Williams completed only 3 of 8 passes for 33 yards in the first half. He rushed for 29 yards, but that was mostly when he was escaping the rush. The Bears didn’t break 100 yards of offense until well into the third quarter.
The Commanders were better in the first half but couldn’t get in the end zone. Washington led 9-0 at halftime on a trio of field goals. Daniels didn’t look like he was coming off a rib injury that had his status in question most of the week. He completed 10 of 19 passes for 154 yards and added 31 yards rushing. Playing through a rib injury, Daniels ended up with 326 yards passing, with 52 of them coming on the final memorable play.
The first half went to Williams, but the Commanders still hadn’t opened up much of a lead. And all that anyone will remember from Sunday’s game is the last play anyway.
Bears hang tough
Washington seemed to finally 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 a flag for ineligible man downfield. The Commanders settled for yet another field goal and a 12-0 lead.
The Bears broke through after that. D’Andre Swift took a sweep to the left, broke a couple of tackles attempts and ran down the sideline for a 56-yard touchdown. Finally there was a sign of life from the Bears’ offense.
The Bears made a huge mistake that can’t be blamed on their rookie quarterback. It was a coaching fiasco. The Bears got to the goal line and decided to hand off to offensive lineman Doug Kramer Jr.. The handoff to the 300-pound lineman was botched and the Commanders recovered the fumble. That decision is hard to explain. It would be a big issue by the end of the game.
The Commanders couldn’t put the game away. The Bears had one more chance to win with less than five minutes left. Williams hit Rome Odunze for a first down on a key third-and-10. His scrambling paid off, as he ran to his right and lofted a pass to an open Keenan Allen for 22 yards.
The officials helped the Bears out on a fourth-and-3. Commanders cornerback Benjamin St-Juste grabbed Allen and that was considered enough for a pass interference call that practically handed the Bears a touchdown. Roschon Johnson scored with 23 seconds left to give the Bears the lead.
It seemed then that Williams would get the win, despite his struggles. Daniels disagreed.