For the first time in a painfully long while, the Washington Commanders appear to have an honest-to-goodness franchise quarterback.
In the 2024 NFL Draft, the Commanders (formerly and controversially known as the Redskins) took LSU’s Jayden Daniels with the second overall pick.
And Daniels has more than lived up to his lofty draft status.
The stellar rookie quarterback has notched 1,736 passing yards and seven touchdowns to just two interceptions and, perhaps most impressively, has completed a red-hot 71.8 percent of his passes.
(For the unaware, anything in the high-sixties is considered a very good completion percentage.)
During the Commanders’ 18-15 win over the Chicago Bears and fellow rookie quarterback Caleb Williams, Daniels reminded viewers of why Washington fans are so excited for his future — and why fans of other teams should be able to root for him, too.
First, the wild ending to the game has to be addressed.
Daniels connected on an incredible 52-yard “Hail Mary” pass to receiver Noah Brown to sink the Bears — which is the sort of play that almost never works.
You can watch the incredible walk-off winner below (and note even the person running the NFL X account struggled for words):
A;FK;JD;KJF;LAKEJFLKJVAL;KEJL;JF;EFJ;LFAKJ
JAYDEN DANIELS HAIL MARY! @COMMANDERS WIN! pic.twitter.com/BsQ0Z84Rko
— NFL (@NFL) October 27, 2024
“It’s a miracle!” exclaimed CBS Sports announcer Jim Nantz.
That “miracle” play — aided in no small part by Bears cornerback Tyrique Stevenson, who was literally trash-talking fans as the above play was happening — was as improbable and impressive of a play from a quarterback, let a lone a rookie quarterback, as you’ll see.
But Daniels was able to top that incredible pass with an even better follow-up when asked about the game-winning heave by CBS Sports reporter Tracy Wolfson.
“He’s so calm, cool and collected,” marveled Wolfson as she began her postgame interview with Daniels. “How are you right now? Can you describe that final play?”
Without skipping a beat, Daniels responded, “Nothing but God, man. Nothing but God.
“Without Him, I don’t think I’d even by playing this week.”
(One of the pre-draft concerns about Daniels — his slight frame and the propensity for injury that would bring — reared its ugly head last week when the Commanders rookie suffered a rib injury.)
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“But man, all glory to God,” Daniels said.
When Wolfson followed up on that rib injury, Daniels cited some rudimentary things he had to do (rehab, film study, etc.), but he still made sure to give the ultimate credit to God.
“I put myself in the position to go out here, but man, like I said, nothing but God, man,” Daniels said.
You can watch the whole exchange for yourself below:
The man that threw up the prayer 🙏@Commanders QB Jayden Daniels talks about the hail mary that got the win (with a very happy Terry McLaurin behind him 😁) pic.twitter.com/BCyvVV1DUP
— NFL (@NFL) October 27, 2024
The Commanders will look to keep its winning ways going when it travels to face the New York Giants — an NFC East rival, no less — on Sunday.
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