When the snap that left the entire NFL in disbelief began Sunday, Washington quarterback Jayden Daniels was supposed to do one of two things, Commanders coach Dan Quinn said — throw the ball out of bounds, or spike it into the turf.Both would have stopped the clock, and given Washington the chance to earn a season-reviving win in the final seconds of overtime over their division-leading rival, the New York Giants.When Daniels did neither, however, and instead ran the ball, it set of a chain of events that produced a 27-27 tie that was the result of the most inexplicable ending of the young NFL season so far.“Leaving tonight with a tie feels like a loss,” Quinn said.It was a far cry from the optimism that the day had started with in Washington.
Playing for the first time since suffering an elbow injury three weeks earlier, Daniels had at times resembled the player who had taken the NFL by storm as a rookie in 2024.His 38-yard touchdown run in the third quarter gave Washington a 19-6 lead.
In the fourth quarter, another Daniels touchdown run of 26 yards kept his team in front, 27-13, with 11 minutes to play in regulation.The Commanders had just seven more offensive plays the rest of the fourth quarter, while the Giants roared back for two touchdowns to force overtime, with the teams lodged in a 27-all tie.
And still, the Commanders had the opportunity to win.With 13 seconds remaining in overtime, the Commanders were in range of a game-winning field goal, just 26 yards from the end zone Daniels, feeling some defensive pressure, improvised a run and barely got back to the line of scrimmage with 8 seconds left on the clock.
He lay on the turf nonchalantly for another 2 seconds, until the Commanders seemed to remember they did not have a timeout remaining, and that the clock was running out on their opportunity to win the game.“They don’t have a timeout,” Fox broadcaster Chris Myers said.“What are they doing?”Rasul Douglas of the Washington Commanders...