SI

Jayden Daniels Didn't Even See His Game-Winning Hail Mary Completion

The pandemonium told him everything he needed to know.

Josh Wilson

McDaniels and the Commanders beat the Bears 18-15
McDaniels and the Commanders beat the Bears 18-15 / Geoff Burke-Imagn Images
In this story:

Jayden Daniels is setting the foundation for what looks like a high-level career as an NFL quarterback. But when he reflects on it all many years from now, he won't even be able to give full perspective on what stands as, so far, the signature moment of his rookie season.

That's because he didn't see it.

An unbelievable last-second Daniels heave ricocheted off a Bears defender but landed right in the hands of one of his receivers, Noah Brown, in the end zone. With zeroes on the clock, it was game over, Commanders win, setting the sidelines and NFL world ablaze.

According to Daniels after the game, his only signal that the ball was caught was the chaos around him:

While the pass was not perfect, as evidenced by a defender touching it first, all that matters is the outcome. Daniels even being able to get the throw off in the first place was impressive considering he was under duress and had to scramble for over 12 seconds and 40 yards before he found space to load up and get the throw off from the Commanders' own 35.

Making it even more impressive, Daniels only logged one practice, a limited one, on Friday this week nursing a rib injury.

Go watch the replay, Jayden. Then watch it again, and again, and again, just like the rest of us.

Washington improved to 6-2 and leads the NFC East.

More of the Latest Around the NFL

feed

Published |Modified
Josh Wilson
JOSH WILSON

Josh Wilson is the news director of the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. Before joining SI in 2024, he worked for FanSided in a variety of roles, most recently as senior managing editor of the brand’s flagship site. He has also served as a general manager of Sportscasting, the sports arm of a start-up sports media company, where he oversaw the site’s editorial and business strategy. Wilson has a bachelor’s degree in mass communications from SUNY Cortland and a master’s in accountancy from the Gies College of Business at the University of Illinois. He loves a good nonfiction book and enjoys learning and practicing Polish. Wilson lives in Chicago but was raised in upstate New York. He spent most of his life in the Northeast and briefly lived in Poland, where he ate an unhealthy amount of pastries for six months.

Home/NFL