Jayden Daniels Completes Miracle Hail Mary, Earns Deserving Win Over Caleb Williams, Bears

The Washington Commanders should have beaten the Chicago Bears on Sunday with the way they played for three quarters. Then, in an instant, the Bears had the game won. 

Then, in another instant, the Commanders actually did win the game after rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels completed one of the longest Hail Mary passes you’ll ever see to win the game with no time on the clock. 

Daniels ran around in the backfield, giving his receivers time to get into the end zone. By the time he released the football, he was standing on his own 35-yard line. 

The ball sailed through the Maryland air and came down at the 2-yard line. Fortunately for Washington, someone deflected the ball into the end zone and right into the waiting arms of Commanders wide receiver Noah Brown. 

It goes down officially as a 52-yard touchdown, even though Daniels hucked the ball almost 65 yards in the air. 

Washington Commanders rookie QB Jayden Daniels completed a miracle Hail Mary to beat the Chicago Bears.

(Scott Taetsch/Getty Images)

It also goes down as the obvious choice for NFL Play of the Year, at least to the midway point. 

To be perfectly frank, though, the Daniels and the Commanders shouldn’t have needed a Hail Mary to beat the Bears on Sunday. 

In a highly-anticipated matchup between the top two picks in the 2024 NFL Draft, it was No. 2 pick Daniels who looked the part and not No. 1 overall pick Caleb Williams. 

Williams completed just four passes in the first three quarters of the game for fewer than 50 yards. 

The Commanders defense completely shut down Williams and made him look like a rookie. Daniels, on the other hand, used both his legs and his arm to lead the Commanders on four scoring drives. 

The problem was that they couldn’t get into the end zone. 

Caleb Williams and the Chicago Bears struggled for the majority of Sunday’s game against the Washington Commanders.

(Greg Fiume/Getty Images)

Despite getting inside the Chicago 10-yard line three times in the first half, Washington scored 9 points. 

They had a potential touchdown called incomplete when referees ruled that tight end Zach Ertz didn’t complete the process of the catch in the end zone. 

In the second half, the Commanders had another would-be touchdown taken away due to a penalty. 

They once again had to settle for a field goal to make it 12-0. 

But Chicago got life thanks to running back D’Andre Swift, who scored a 56-yard touchdown. 

Williams and the Bears played much better in the fourth quarter and had a chance to take the lead a little over halfway through the final frame, but Bears head coach Matt Eberflus made one of the most puzzling decisions of the 2024 NFL season. 

With the ball sitting at the Commanders 1-yard line on third and goal, Chicago inexplicably tried to run the ball up the middle to an offensive lineman who was lined up at fullback. 

Predictably, that turned into a complete disaster. 

Despite that, the Bears defense forced a punt and drove right back down the field. Roschon Johnson punched it in from a yard out following a pass interference penalty, and the Bears somehow looked on their way to an improbable victory. 

Improbable, as Caleb Williams completed 10 of 24 passes for just 131 yards. 

Then, Jayden Daniels (who was 21 of 38 for 326 yards) came up with the ultimate magic trick just four days before Halloween. 

The better team won the game that it deserved to win, but it came in the most unlikely fashion.