LANDOVER, Md. (AP) — Jayden Daniels had a couple of very simple thoughts going through his head with the Washington Commanders needing to make a long-distance throw to beat the Chicago Bears.
“Buy some time and don’t throw the ball out of bounds," Daniels said.
Daniels scrambled around for nearly 13 seconds and heaved the ball from the Washington 35-yard line with no time on the clock. The pass tipped off the hands of Zach Ertz short of the goal line and into the waiting arms of Noah Brown, who was standing alone in the end zone, for a 52-yard Hail Mary touchdown that gave the Commanders an improbable 18-15 victory on Sunday and sent players, coaches and fans into a frenzy.
The rookie quarterback never even saw Brown make the catch.
“I just heard people screaming and our sideline rushing the field. That’s how I knew,” said Daniels, whose status was uncertain until hours before kickoff because of a rib injury. “That’s kind of like a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Not too many people get to experience stuff like that.”
Daniels' heroics came after the Commanders (6-2) fell behind with 25 seconds left on a TD run by Roschon Johnson after a pass-interference penalty put the ball on the 1-yard line. There were just 19 seconds left after a kickoff return to the 24.
Three completions later, Daniels added his best highlight yet to a season that has made him the favorite to be AP Offensive Rookie of the Year and one of the NFL's most electric players.
“We’re blessed to have ‘5’ leading this team: The things he can do is special,” Brown said. “I wouldn’t want to play with any other quarterback.”
Offensive lineman Sam Cosmi said it was “like a movie.”
“Front-row seats to something amazing,” Cosmi said. "That was just crazy. This will always stick in my head forever. What a moment."
In the NFL’s sixth matchup of rookie quarterbacks taken with the top two picks in the draft, Daniels threw for 326 yards and ran for 52. Caleb Williams, taken first by the Bears (4-3), completed four of his first 16 passes and finished 10 of 24 for 131 yards.
Chicago, which had its winning streak snapped at three, had just 172 yards of offense before the fourth quarter started and did not get on the board until D'Andre Swift's 56-yard TD run late in the third.
“That’s just us shooting ourselves in the foot and that comes from details and focus in the game, throughout the week,” said Williams, a Washington-area native who was playing back home for the first time as a pro. “That comes from myself. I’m included in that for sure. Definitely missed a few passes that I don’t miss typically so, tough, but very encouraging because we stayed in it.”
Daniels was not himself at times and looked a bit off because of the rib injury, which knocked him out of last week's win over Carolina and kept him from practicing Wednesday and Thursday. He took several hits after letting go of the ball but was at his best when it mattered.
“We knew he had it in him,” running back Brian Robinson Jr. said. “He just showed us today what he’s capable of and how tough he is.”
Austin Seibert kicked four field goals for the Commanders for their only points until the Hail Mary.
Signing Seibert after a kicking debacle in the season opener has turned out to be huge for Washington. Even with one fewer game, he passed Mark Moseley during his All-Pro season in 1982 for the most field goals made and most points scored through Week 8 in franchise history.
Bears: After losing left tackle Braxton Jones in the first half with a knee injury, guards Teven Jenkins (knee) and Bill Murray (chest) were knocked out in the fourth.
Commanders: LT Cornelius Lucas limped off the field midway through the third quarter with an ankle injury. Rookie Brandon Coleman, who has been splitting the snaps with Lucas, was inactive because of a concussion.
Bears: Visit Arizona next Sunday.
Commanders: Visit the New York Giants next Sunday.
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