Commanders Players React to Jayden Daniels' Gutty Performance

The Washington Commanders took a huge victory over the Chicago Bears as rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels connected with wide receiver Noah Brown on a Hail Mary with time expiring to win the football game.

Of course, after the game, the miraculous play to win the game was all the talk on social media. However, it was unclear if Daniels would even be active before the game. A week ago, he suffered a rib injury that held him out of two practices.

Still, Daniels took on No. 1 overall pick Caleb Williams and the Bears, despite not being fully healthy, and he put together a gutty performance. He completed 21 of his 38 passes for 326 yards and one touchdown with no interception in the game.

Commanders veteran backup quarterback Marcus Mariota was highly complimentary of how the LSU product played given the injury.

"At the end of the day, anytime you're banged up or nicked up, it's never easy. But I think at such a young age, he understands that when you step in and you're playing in the NFL, after Week 1 you're not going to feel 100 percent," Mariota explained (h/t Nichi Jhabvala). "It took a lot of toughness, it took a lot of grit and for him to-especially throughout the game, I mean, he was standing in the pocket making some unbelievable throws and not flinching. I think that says a lot about who he is and the competitor [he is]. A very underrated kind of day for him. I thought he was just world class."

Daniels, despite having been a limited participant in Friday's practice, helped Washington to a 6-2 record. They could have very easily fallen to 5-3, but the reigning Heisman winner made a miracle of a play to keep the ball rolling on the season.

The quarterback's play and ability to go win a football game with an injury that should absolutely impact his play sends a message to his teammates and the rest of the locker room. Commanders running back Brian Robinson Jr. talked about Daniels' play.

“The dog, the dog that's in him. We've known that he has it in him. He just showed us what he's capable of and how tough he is," Robinson explained. "He took a lot of hits today; probably more hits than I've seen him take all season. He's already dealing with something and that shows how tough he is. Obviously, we want to minimize those hits on him. He just continues to prove how tough he is.”

Brown, who caught the last-second touchdown to win the football game, also detailed how great it is to have Daniels under center, leading the way.

“We’re blessed to have 5 leading this team," Brown said. "The things he can do are special–just even
that last play. Keeping his composure, fighting like hell to get the ball off and throwing a
hell of a ball. I wouldn’t want to play with any other Quarterback. I’m glad to have him.”