Commanders Leave NFL Reeling With Shocking Finish in Week 8

Getty Washington Commanders wide receiver Noah Brown.

The Washington Commanders were down bad. Their double-digit lead against the Chicago Bears had vanished. Their quarterback, playing injured, seemed like he had nothing left.

One more play. No time left.

Then, a miracle. A play that will live on through the ages in franchise history — a 52-yard Hail Mary touchdown pass from rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels to Noah Brown as time expired to give the Commanders the 18-15 win over the Bears in Week 8 that sent the crowd at Northwest Stadium in Landover, Maryland, into a frenzy.

On the final play, Daniels scrambled right out of the pocket then floated back toward the middle of the field before launching a pass that bounced off the hands of a group of leaping Bears and Commanders and into the arms of Brown standing in the end zone.

Daniels finished 21-of-38 passing for 326 yards, 1 touchdown and no interceptions to go with 52 rushing yards on 8 carries.

The play left even the most venerated of play-by-play announcers, CBS Sports’ Jim Nantz, speechless.

“There are no words,” Nantz told color commentator Tony Romo.

The win improved the Commanders to 6-2 and kept them in first place in the NFC East Division. It’s the best start to a season for the Commanders since 2008.

Breaking Down Commanders’ Final Drive to Win

Daniels led the Commanders 76 yards over 4 plays after getting the ball back trailing 15-12 with just 23 seconds left in the game.

Romo made an astute observation on the next-to-last play of the game when he said the Commanders needed to try to run a play getting another 10-12 yards with just 5 seconds left in the game, which Daniels did on an out route to Terry Mclaurin to set up the Hail Mary touchdown.

“That was wild, man, just wild,” Daniels said on the Commanders’ postgame broadcast on their official X account. “… that Hail Mary, nothing but God.”

Daniels didn’t practice until Friday before facing the Bears after injuring his rib on the first offensive play of the game in a Week 7 win over the Carolina Panthers. The Commanders didn’t announce Daniels would play until the morning of the game against the Bears.

“I was very optimistic (about playing), it was constant, daily, waking up feeling better,” Daniels said.

After trailing 12-0, the Bears rallied on a pair of touchdowns in the second half from D’Andre Swift and a 1-yard touchdown run by Roschon Johnson to take the lead with 23 seconds left.

Unlikely Star for Commanders on Final Play

Brown was a seventh round pick by the Dallas Cowboys in the 2017 NFL draft out of Ohio State and is on his third team after spending his first 6 seasons in Dallas then playing for the Houston Texans in 2023.

The Commanders signed Brown after he was released by the Texans as part of their final roster cuts before the regular season on August 27.

Headed into the game against the Bears, Brown had just 11 receptions for 112 yards and no touchdowns. Brown finished with 3 receptions for 73 yards and 1 touchdown against the Bears.

Washington hits the road to face NFC East foe the New York Giants in Week 9. The Commanders don’t have a bye until Week 14.