By John Keim
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels put two interceptions and a stretch of frustrating late-game drives behind him, then produced in the one moment that mattered most: a game his team had to have.
Daniels’ 32-yard touchdown pass with 49 seconds to play lifted the Commanders to a 24-21 victory over the New York Giants on Thursday night.
“Baby Kobe,” said Washington receiver Stefon Diggs, who hauled in the decisive catch.
The win improved Washington to 3-5-1 and moved the Commanders within two games of the first-place Giants (5-3-1) in the NFC East. Washington had been unraveling down the stretch, with three of its previous four games decided in the final minute — a span in which the Commanders went 0-2-1.
The night in New Jersey nearly followed that script. Daniels had thrown two interceptions before the winning march, including one that came from the Giants’ 24-yard line.
But after Washington’s defense forced a punt, the offense needed only three plays to cover 71 yards.
“When I had the opportunity to go out there and win the game, take a deep breath, go out there and just capitalize on the moment,” Daniels said. “I didn’t want to let my team down.”
The drive offered a measure of redemption for Daniels, whose last game-winning march had come in a 2024 wild-card game at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
This season had tested him. The Commanders failed to convert a 2-point try in the opener against the Philadelphia Eagles, and Daniels’ decision not to throw the ball away in overtime squandered a chance at a game-winning field goal. In each of their prior two losses, Washington’s final drive stalled in enemy territory.
A week earlier, the Commanders reached the Los Angeles Rams’ 32-yard line with eight seconds left in a 20-13 defeat but could not deliver a pass into the end zone.
The string of setbacks brought heavy scrutiny. Daniels told ESPN last week that he was “for sure” one of the most criticized quarterbacks in the league.
Yet his mindset entering Thursday’s final possession was simple. “One play at a time,” he said.
He then did what he hadn’t managed since his rookie year: engineered a game-winning drive. He produced five of them in 2024 on his way to being named NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year.
“He’s so cool, calm and collected all the time,” Washington tight end Ben Sinnott said. “That energy goes to the whole offense, just being able to trust in him. You all were here for ’24; how many drives he led us to victory, knowing what he can do and trusting in what we see every day.”
Daniels has now started five straight games after missing two with a dislocated left elbow, the longest such stretch since he played all 20 contests as a rookie. On Thursday, he completed 23 of 33 passes for 249 yards and three touchdowns.
That steady run of work, he said, has helped him settle in.
“I’m starting to get into that rhythm,” Daniels said. “It shows the more games you play consistently, the more reps you get, the more flow in the rhythm that you can [find]. And it was tough last year being in and out of the lineup and trying to catch a rhythm.”
His two interceptions marked a first for him this season.
“Got that out of my system, so got to move forward about that,” Daniels said. “It just shows resilience and the belief that the team had in me. … I’m going to kick myself for those mistakes in those critical moments.”
Commanders coach Dan Quinn credited the response. “With the interceptions, when you come back, it said a lot about him,” he said.
Finding his rhythm may have paid off on the winning throw. When the Giants blitzed with cover zero, Daniels flashed a signal to Diggs, who broke inside on a slant against cornerback Dru Phillips, shed the tackle attempt and raced toward the end zone. Diggs turned back at the 1-yard line, paused, and tumbled backward across the goal line.
“He’ll be the same player he is in the beginning of the game as he is in the end of the game,” Diggs said. “Things will happen good and bad and he isn’t going to change.”
