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Jayden Daniels maintains calm approach as Commanders come from behind to stun Eagles

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Jayden Daniels maintains calm approach as Commanders come from behind to stun Eagles

LANDOVER, Md. — Whatever happens over the remaining weeks of the Washington Commanders’ surprising 2024 season, one upshot rises above all. With the game on the line, never doubt Jayden Daniels.

“That’s a huge takeaway, for sure,” right guard Sam Cosmi said.

Cosmi was on the field when the rookie quarterback with video game mobility and a talented right arm again played the hero role.

The 36-33 victory over the NFC East-leading Philadelphia Eagles, played in temperatures that primarily stayed below 30 degrees, wasn’t the rookie quarterback’s best start-to-finish outing. Yet, the totality of the circumstances, including missing pieces on offense and playoff status at stake, showed that Daniels is remarkable.

Like his teammates for much of the game, Daniels swapped a dynamic highlight for an uncharacteristic mistake. Washington committed five turnovers, including two Daniels interceptions. That doesn’t include getting stopped on fourth down at midfield on its opening drive. Having yet to beat a team of the Eagles’ caliber this season was part of the backdrop.

Yet somehow, Washington improved to 10-5 for the franchise’s best record through 15 games since 1991. Daniels throwing a career-best five touchdown passes more than helped. With six seconds remaining, his 9-yard rocket to wide receiver Jamison Crowder sent a charge through the stands and Washington’s sideline.

Players jubilantly bounded off the field after the Eagles’ laterals turned into a fumble on the final play. Members of the ownership group held their usual spot outside the locker room. The 309-pound Cosmi’s postgame enthusiasm led to lifting and throwing minority partner Mitch Rales in the air. Cosmi did his best Crowder impersonation by catching the 68-year-old Rales.

“He loved it,” Cosmi said. “I think.”

The win was the franchise’s second shocking triumph this weekend. Time didn’t run out on Washington moving closer to building a new stadium in the nation’s capital. Even without injured quarterback Jalen Hurts (concussion) for three-plus quarters, Philadelphia should have put the game away umpteen different times. It didn’t.

The Eagles could have run out the clock after Daniels’ second interception — eighth on the season — with three minutes remaining if DeVonta Smith catches a third-and-5 pass from backup Kenny Pickett. Instead, Philadelphia settled for kicker Jake Elliott’s fourth field goal and a five-point lead with 1:58 remaining. Even amid stressful late-game scenarios, Washington’s quarterback, whose EKG might have appeared flatlined since he seemingly never gets rattled, maintained his calm approach.

“No, not at all,” Daniels said when asked if he had doubts about Washington winning at any point.

So what if the Commanders allowed Saquon Barkley 109 rushing yards and two touchdowns — in the first quarter — or trailed 27-14 with three minutes remaining in the third, or saw cornerback Marshon Lattimore on the sideline in the fourth quarter with another hamstring issue following a long day covering receiver A.J. Brown, or were two minutes away from losing wiggle room as the third and final NFC wild-card team.

“I always believe that we can win a game no matter what,” said Daniels, who was 24-of-39 for 257 yards and those five touchdowns. “The game is never over until the clock hits zero.”

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Longtime observers of this franchise have struggled this season with accepting the other shoe might not drop. Two decades of dark clouds can make bright skies seem like a mirage. Over the previous two decades, the opposing teams made winning-time plays with a star or random quarterback.

Punter Tress Way’s 11-year career included countless such heartbreaking outcomes. Those teams didn’t have Daniels.

“I’ve said this, answering many questions about Jayden throughout this year,” said Way, who wore No. 5 until Daniels’ iconic arrival. “When he’s on the field, you got a chance.”

Future Hall of Fame linebacker Bobby Wagner watched another member of Washington’s rookie class, Luke McCaffrey, cap his impressive kick-returning work with a 29-yard jolt. As the offense ran onto the field, doubt kept its distance from Daniels’ surrogate big brother.

Wagner believed the kid, four days removed from his 24th birthday, had the goods for this moment. Why wouldn’t he? Daniels had two game-winning drives on his first-year resume, overt examples of his impressive composure.

Coach Dan Quinn felt relief that the defense held Philadelphia to a field goal late in the game. Limiting Barkley to 27 of his 150 rushing yards in the second half also helped.

Quinn has watched Daniels enough to know the offense had plenty of time for a touchdown drive. It began with a 7-yard completion to Olamide Zaccheaus, one of Washington’s unexpected standouts. After crossing midfield on a Brian Robinson Jr. 5-yard run, Daniels found his favorite target, Terry McLaurin, for 10 yards on the left side.

The duo connected for a 32-yard touchdown in the second quarter — McLaurin’s 12th, tying a franchise record with Super Bowl champion Ricky Sanders — as Washington fortunately entered halftime only down 21-14. The play began with Daniels’ superb vision. He spotted McLaurin near the front left corner of the end zone. The receiver tracked the ball for an incredible over-the-head reception.

“Man, he’s so poised,” McLaurin said of the first rookie quarterback in franchise history to throw five touchdown passes in a game and the sixth rookie in NFL history. “No matter if we’re making plays or missing plays, he has a way to stay even-keeled that I’ve never seen from a rookie at any position.”

Daniels, the team’s leading rusher Sunday with 81 yards, moved the chains with a swerving 12-yard dash up the middle, putting the ball at Philadelphia’s 23 as the clock ticked under 30 seconds. The composure is part of his DNA, but being fluent in what to do in every game scenario comes from countless hours of work at the team facility.

“You guys are seeing the product of it out there,” Wagner said. “We see it at practice. It’s fun for you guys to see what we see.”

Another McLaurin catch, another Daniels positive scramble and Robinson’s final carry moved the ball to the Eagles’ 9-yard line. The quarterback stopped the clock at 10 seconds with a spike, his only incompletion on the final drive, leaving Quinn to calculate every variable remaining in this “wild game.”

Quinn saw his team dig “ourselves into a huge hole” in the first quarter. Washington’s first three offensive drives netted 8 yards. Philadelphia scored three touchdowns in the first quarter, headlined by Barkley’s 68-yard blast down the left sideline. Regardless, the coach understood this group’s never-surrender mindset. “We’re never out of the fight,” Quinn said.

Mistakes happen. The great ones move past those down moments quickly. After the late-game interception, Daniels showed he’s one of those types.

“That’s the whole key to it,” Quinn said after Washington’s first win with at least five turnovers since 2002. “I think he’s able to clear (his mind) knowing that the interception took place.”

Daniels might feel he needs to wear the superhero cape more than ever. Two of Washington’s top pass catchers, wide receiver Noah Brown and running back Austin Ekeler, are on injured reserve. Tight end Zach Ertz spent the week in concussion protocol and finished with one catch on two targets. The running backs gained 32 yards on 15 carries. As always, Daniels wasn’t worried.

Zaccheaus and Crowder, part of the overlooked receiver room, combined for zero touchdown catches entering Sunday. They exited with four. Zaccheaus found the end zone twice in the fourth quarter, including a broken play resulting in a 49-yard touchdown. Crowder, on IR much of the season, scored the Commanders’ first points with a 6-yard catch in the first quarter.

Both undersized targets were on the field in a four-receiver set. Crowder’s route from the right side played off Ertz’s underneath action. He found space near the back of the end zone, and Daniels found him. Of course he did. Crowder revealed postgame that the offense ran the same red zone play in practice on Friday, “and I caught the same pass.”

Jeremy McNichols then ran into the end zone for a two-point conversion. Somehow, someway, Washington keeps finding ways to win. One more gets it into the postseason.

“We shot ourselves in the foot a bunch of times,” Cosmi said. “We battled to the end to have a winning drive in the last two minutes — and pulled it off.”

Quinn keeps his players from looking beyond the immediate tasks. He also understood the importance of this game to bolster the team’s confidence against potential playoff foes. He said on Friday, “If you want to be a contender, you have to beat some heavy hitters.”

Following the win, Quinn said, “We’re getting closer” to believing they can beat anyone. He said the Hurts injury limiting Philadelphia cannot be ignored, and those five turnovers were rough. Fortunately, he has a quarterback in Daniels who, when winning-time moments arrive, “likes being in that space.”

Daniels is the overwhelming favorite for Offensive Rookie of the Year. That recognition comes later. After this stupendous comeback win, Quinn honored the rookie in his way.

“He became a heavy hitter today,” the coach said.

(Photo: Peter Casey / Imagn Images)

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