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Jayden Daniels Reveals Four-Word Question He Asked Himself Before Game-Winning Drive

Daniels and the Commanders got ever-closer to making the playoffs with a big win over the Philadelphia Eagles.

Josh Wilson

Daniels celebrates after throwing a touchdown against the Eagles
Daniels celebrates after throwing a touchdown against the Eagles / Peter Casey-Imagn Images

It felt like the entire NFL world had its eyes glued on the divisional matchup between the Philadelphia Eagles and Washington Commanders. The game had huge playoff implications both for the top of the NFC and the teams—like the Commanders—hoping to sneak into the final few playoff spots.

Down 33-28 at the two-minute warning following an Eagles field goal make, quarterback Jayden Daniels and the Washington Commanders had a true two-minute drill to get after. A gutsy nine-play drive resulted in a passing touchdown and two-point conversion with six seconds remaining that put the Commanders up 36-33 to win it.

After the game, Daniels spoke about his mindset ahead of the final drive, including one simple question he asks himself in these moments:

“When it’s on thin ice and plays need to be made, that’s what you live for if you really love this sport, you live for those big-time moments where it comes down to the end. You know, everything’s against you, back's against the wall. How will you respond?”

On the final drive, Daniels accounted for 47 yards of offense (57-yard drive) either through his own rushes or passing, and threw the final touchdown pass to Jamison Crowder as well.

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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.

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