The Washington Commanders defeated the Atlanta Falcons 30-24 on Sunday Night Football to clinch a spot in the NFC playoff field. Rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels found tight end Zach Ertz for a two-yard touchdown pass in overtime to propel the Commanders to victory.
Once again, Daniels was phenomenal, completing 24 of 36 passes for 226 yards, with three touchdowns and one interception. Daniels also finished with a career-high 127 rushing yards.
Before his touchdown pass to Ertz, Daniels had no doubts his team was winning the game. He explained what he was thinking about the game-winner to Ertz.
“Man coverage,” Daniels said. “I knew they were going to keep eyes on [WR] Terry [McLaurin], and I knew Zach had a one-on-one. We repped that so many times I knew he was going to win on that, he was going to make the catch and it was going to be game over.”
Daniels was right. Ertz made the catch — and it wasn’t an easy one — and the game was over. The Commanders improved to 11-5, the franchise’s best record since 1991, and are heading to the playoffs for the first time since 2020.
Daniels and his teammates face the Dallas Cowboys next week as they look to lock down the sixth overall seed in the NFC playoff field.