ASHBURN, Va. -- Everything was going wrong. Already well behind the sticks after a holding penalty, the Commanders faced second-and-goal from the 16. So when Jayden Daniels couldn't find anyone and the protection broke down, things looked even worse. When Daniels drifted to his left and, surrounded by two Saints pass rushers, slipped to the turf, they were downright dire.
But then Daniels regained his footing -- he never had to regain his composure -- and fired a dart to Terry McLaurin, who had run from the complete opposite side of the field, an afterthought for much of the play. Touchdown, Washington.
In his introductory press conference, Commanders offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury said his ideal quarterback was "the Chiefs quarterback." And while Daniels has a long, long, long way to go, that one play showed Patrick Mahomes-ian improvisation.
"I don't even know what that was, where he kind of rolled around, got knocked down, and Terry came up and made it," Kingsbury said. "The play couldn't have gone any more wrong, and he made it right, and that's why it's about players, not plays."
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Perhaps you, dear reader, became aware that Daniels had it -- whatever "it" is that makes quarterbacks special -- in Week 3, when he threw a beautiful fade to McLaurin to seal a win over the Bengals on "Monday Night Football." Maybe it came in Week 8, when Daniels' Hail Mary to Noah Brown became the thing of legends. Or maybe it was in Week 17, when Daniels found Zach Ertz for the game-winning touchdown in overtime to beat the Falcons and clinch Washington's first playoff berth since 2020.
And even if you missed Daniels amid the hubbub of the regular season, you certainly saw him coolly lead Washington to an overtime victory over the Buccaneers -- Washington's first playoff win since 2005 -- before dissecting Detroit in the divisional round, sending Washington to its first NFC Championship since 1991.
Maybe that's when you realized he was special. But his teammates and coaches? They've known from the start.
"Early on, like, he was doing stuff in the rookie minicamp that I was like, 'This is different than what I'm used to seeing ever,'" Kingsbury said. "I think some of the checks and the reads and the progressions and the ball not touching the ground early and just the ability to see it once and go out there and execute at a high level was unique."
Daniels goes back even further with passing game coordinator Brian Johnson. In 2018, when Daniels was in high school, he visited the University of Florida. Johnson was the Gators' quarterbacks coach at the time. Daniels ended up choosing Arizona State before transferring to LSU, but when the two reconnected in Washington, Johnson was immediately impressed again.
"Even just rookie minicamp, he came in really, really prepared, ready to go," Johnson said. "And throughout the course of the draft process, like the Zooms we had with him, you could tell he's very, very serious and very, very eager about being the best player he can possibly be. The way he works at it has been incredible to watch."
Several people on and around the team share a similar sentiment: that it's not a single moment that sticks out, but rather the moxie, the approach, the demeanor.
"I think his approach to the game has really been different compared to a lot of people that I've been around when they're young," Ertz said. "A lot of times when you're young in the league, it's a lot of trial and error to see what works for you, and oftentimes you're reactionary in terms of how your process is … whereas Jayden, the moment he first got here, he was the first one in the building, studying as much as possible. He was very proactive in his approach to being great."
Ertz wasn't the only teammate to appreciate Daniels' advanced stage early on. Bobby Wagner, who has become somewhat like a big brother to Daniels, noted the young quarterback never backed down from trash talk in OTAs, even though he was just learning the plays. Defensive coordinator Joe Whitt Jr. noted how difficult it was to have to prepare to practice against Daniels in training camp, citing Daniels' poise. McLaurin, even from the earliest days of the offseason, praised Daniels' accuracy and disposition.
But, of course, it is the moments. All the preparation in the world matters little if it doesn't translate to the games. And Daniels has produced one of the most magnificent rookie seasons ever. He threw five touchdown passes in the final 30 seconds of the fourth quarter or in overtime -- two more than anyone else in a single season since at least the AFL-NFL merger in 1970.
Head coach Dan Quinn tried to keep himself in check, noting that it's come in glimpses -- Daniels' first NFL victory came via him managing a two-minute drill to perfection against the Giants in Week 2. But it didn't take long for him to realize it wasn't just glimpses.
"It was a giant glimpse against Chicago. That was more of like an actual big glimpse," Quinn said laughing.
That Hail Mary will be forever etched in Commanders and Daniels lore, but so, too, will be the throw to McLaurin in Cincinnati five weeks earlier.
"I'd probably say on the road at Cincinnati when some of the stuff he did there, I was like, 'OK, this is like a real thing,' Kingsbury said.
When the Commanders beat Atlanta, it wasn't just Washington coaches who were aware.
"Certainly like by the end when we got to Atlanta. ... talking to Raheem [Morris] afterward like, 'This guy's amazing,'" Quinn said. "I knew early on the poise was really good. Then as it got into these moments where it became great, that's a big deal."
Back in April, when GM Adam Peters was asked why Washington selected Daniels, he said Daniels "takes your soul as a defense." The next day, at Daniels' introductory press conference, the quarterback was asked for an example of when he did that.
"The 2023 Florida game," Daniels said, a smile creasing his face.
What was it about that game?
"Just turn on the tape and watch that game," Daniels responded, laughing.
The game -- another one of those moments, those glimpses -- included 372 yards passing and 234 yards rushing from Daniels, a performance that not only elevated his Heisman status but helped convince Washington he was the right choice at No. 2 overall.
We've seen moments of soul-taking in the NFL, too. Bears defenders lying on the ground in disbelief after giving up a Hail Mary. Buccaneers defensive lineman Calijah Kancey viscerally reacting after only being able to grab Daniels' towel -- but not Daniels himself -- on a key third-and-1 conversion in the wild-card round.
"We've played in some of the most hostile environment. We've been playing in some of the biggest stages, and he's been treating it the same every week," McLaurin said about Daniels. "I love that about him, and that's something that I feel like permeates throughout our team. I don't see that changing with him. To have that so early in his career, it's a testament to who he is as a person, the way he was raised by his family and is a reason why I feel like he has a chance to be a really great player in the league."
The next test, of course, is Philadelphia, which boasts one of the league's best defenses and most hostile crowds. But Daniels, who threw for five touchdowns in Washington's Week 16 win over Philadelphia, will be ready.
"He's a young quarterback by birth certificate, not by the tape," Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio said days before the NFC title game against the Commanders.
Daniels' preparation and the poise go way back, long before he revived a woebegone franchise, long before he brought it to Championship Sunday. Commanders brass knew during draft preparation. Teammates and coaches soon found out, too, and opponents were next.
But that doesn't make him a finished project. Far from it. McLaurin noted that Daniels, even deep into the season, "doesn't accept a bad rep in practice." Kingsbury says Daniels' work ethic and competitive stamina have only improved. Daniels still arrives early. Ertz says Daniels' habits set him apart and will continue to set him apart.
Just take it from the person who was first tasked with stopping Daniels way back in July and August, when a season like this seemed like a pipe dream and Daniels was supposed to be a rookie experiencing growing pains.
"I think the thing that people miss, as great of a player as Jayden is -- and he is phenomenal -- he is a better person," Whitt said. He's a better young man. So, when you just walk around and you talk to him and you realize he's humble, confident, not cocky, not arrogant. He's a true teammate, he's caring, he's authentic, that's when you realize, 'All right, we really have a chance to have a special, special guy.' And then when you get out there and see the arm talent and the football stuff, that's good, but the person is why he is and why these guys fight for him the way that they fight for him because he's just an amazing young man."
