Jayden Daniels and the commanders summoned Mary using the method of her madness

LANDOVER, Md. – “You buy the premise, you buy the part,” my mother used to say.

That is, once you accept the general concept of a plan or idea, you must also accept everything that leads to the realization of that plan.

So if you believe in Jayden Daniels and all the potential he brings, then the idea that he would complete a Hail Mary on the final play of a brutally disappointing leadoff loss to the Chicago Bears – a pass that would come from Chicago's cornerback Tyrique Stevenson being tipped and falling into the hands of Noah Brown for the game-winning touchdown shouldn't be a shock to the system, right? I mean, Daniels did He won the Heisman last year did He threw 40 touchdowns last season at LSU Was It's not for nothing that he's the second pick in the NFL draft. Right?

Oh, come on.

The. Is. Incredible!

Hail Noah!!!!!!!!!!!

📺 #CHIvsWAS CBS pic.twitter.com/nRr3sIF17K

– Washington Commanders (@Commanders) October 27, 2024

Cats and dogs, living together – mass hysteria!

“I was like Jim Valvano, just running around and not knowing where to go or what to do,” Washington coach Dan Quinn said.

The Commanders are 6-2 after winning their first four home games in a season. Minority owner Mitchell Rales volunteered to leave for the first time in 20 years. Washington remains in first place in the NFC East. There is evidence of a real home-field advantage at Northwest Stadium. Daniels, playing with a bad rib after being sidelined last week against the Carolina Panthers, was magical again when lethal behavior wouldn't be enough.

“I did it once in high school, at the end of a half,” Daniels said of the Hail Mary. “But nothing on this scale.”

You may recall that Bob Myers, the Commanders' new consigliere, helped build the Golden State Warriors dynasty that won four NBA titles. That's how he saw the “double-bang” shot that Stephen Curry hit from near midfield in Oklahoma City in 2016 to defeat the Thunder in a memorable regular-season game. So he's seen incredible stuff from great players, especially Curry.

“This is better!” Myers exclaimed on Sunday. “That’s about five (NBA) games worth.”

Indeed.

Washington's offense was held out of the end zone for 59 minutes and 58 seconds. Despite having incredible field position all afternoon, with drives starting on the Chicago 40 and Chicago 41 and three trips into the Bears' red zone, the Commanders were only able to get four Austin Seibert field goals. The Commanders' defense was outstanding all day, but allowed two touchdown drives, the last of which was a 62-yard drive in the final four-plus minutes of the game, with Roschon Johnson's 1-yard score and the successful 2-pointer -Use brought the Bears to 15 points -12 with 25 seconds left.

But buried in the madness of the final two seconds was a whole host of reasons why this team is 6-2.

First, consider the time from the snap at Washington's 48-yard line by center Tyler Biadasz to the time the ball left Daniels' hands. It took 13 seconds from the snapshot to the throw. Not only did that mean Daniels had to run around and buy time, but his offensive linemen, who are built for power, not speed — and certainly not for holding blocks for 13 seconds — had to hit everything in a road uniform, that moved without missing. (For reference, this celebrated tackle and finish by Donovan McNabb in 2004 against the Dallas Cowboys lasted 14 seconds.)

Chicago rushed three linemen, with linebacker TJ Edwards acting as a spy for Daniels. Helping out at the snap was running back Austin Ekeler, who remained in the backfield as a backup against Trent Scott – who filled in for the injured Cornelius Lucas, who filled in for the injured Brandon Coleman – and double-team defensive end DeMarcus Walker. Yes, that means the Commanders only had their left tackle on the third line on the final play. Biadasz took Bears lineman Gervon Dexter Sr. alone.

After a few seconds, Walker broke Ekeler and Scott's blocks and forced Daniels to his right. The problem was that at the same time Bears defenseman Jacob Moore was starting to throw off guard Sam Cosmi's double-team blocks and attack Andrew Wylie, he would have been in a position to attack Daniels. Luckily for Washington, Moore slipped. So Daniels was able to drift to the right. But there was still no clear passing lane.

Daniels turned left, only able to do so because Cosmi forced him out of pursuit. Biadasz had Dexter stalled for about eight seconds. But Dexter eventually let go of Biadasz and started chasing Daniels to his left, and he put him in his sights. Except Commanders guard Nick Allegretti, who suffered an ankle injury, backed away and slammed Dexter into the ground. All of these things had to happen for Daniels to have a chance to stand up and put his entire body weight into the throw.

“I think those are the guys that don’t show up on the stat sheet, but (you) know they’re in contention,” Quinn said. “And that’s one of the reasons why Allegretti was captain tonight. Because he showed the team that he was willing to be a fighter and play through an ankle that was bad and tough. For him, I think that kind of shows who he is. And that’s an identity that you have to build because you have to show it over and over again.”

Daniels, now able to plant his feet, threw the ball from his own 35-yard line. It landed on the Chicago 2 after traveling 63 yards in the air.

“I can’t hit a golf ball that far,” Allegretti said.

As usual, Daniels didn't have much to say afterward.

“Just throw it as far as you can and not out of bounds,” he said.

MIRACLES HAPPEN, BABY pic.twitter.com/lapiphNA38

– Washington Commanders (@Commanders) October 28, 2024

But at the other end of Daniels’ parable, there was…planning.

“I know this sounds crazy,” said CBS’s Tony Romo, “but there’s a method to the madness.”

TRUE. Every football team – high school, college, professional – practices Hail Marys. And like most NFL teams, the Commanders practice a lot. The formation is roughly a diamond: one receiver in front, two behind him on the wings, and a fourth receiver behind him in the back. On Sunday, Terry McLaurin was ahead. Tight end Zach Ertz and receiver Luke McCaffrey were the wings. And Brown was behind. Depending on how deep the ball is thrown, any of the four Commanders players could be able to catch it.

Of course, practicing the exercise doesn't mean that it will work. It almost never works. There is pushing, shoving and holding.

“It’s a battle against all down there,” McLaurin said. “The referees will call no holding, no boxing out. It’s physical.”

Two Bears defensemen went to McLaurin. Bears cornerback Jaylon Johnson knocked McLaurin to the ground, knocking him out of the game. At the 2-yard line, Ertz and McCaffrey jumped, Ertz got higher. But higher than Ertz was Stevenson, who had been talking to McLaurin all afternoon and clearly told the normally cool McLaurin in the second half: “You're not (bleep)” with Stevenson. And Stevenson, uh, took a detour to pass, taunted the Commanders fans as the ball was snapped and turned his back on the game. The There will be an interesting film session in Halas Hall on Monday.

But Stevenson had his right hand on the ball. Bears safety Kevin Byard III also jumped. But the ball flew out of Stevenson's hand, over Byard and into the waiting arms of Brown, who wasn't here at the start of training camp, a late addition to the roster after being among the Houston Texans' final cuts before the season. It was the easiest of Brown's six catches on the day.

“That happened to be my job on the Hail Mary,” Brown said. “We have one man in front and two in back, try to throw it to the jumper. … And we did the play.”

Well, there was luck too. But luck seems to follow certain teams in certain seasons. The harder they work, the luckier they are. Daniels played better for most of the game than Caleb Williams, who was selected by Chicago one pick ahead of him in the draft. He completed 21 of 38 passes for 326 yards, and Washington again gained time of possession as the Bears were a paltry 2 of 12 on third downs. But Williams pushed his team to the lead when it mattered most, giving Daniels just 25 seconds to get to the top.

And Daniels did.

Nothing seems out of reach for him and therefore also for his team. Not now, not after the final chapter of this incredible, franchise-changing start to the season. Nine more games of the regular season, and then… who the hell knows?

(Photo: Greg Fiume/Getty Images)