The Washington Commanders punched their ticket to the post-season in dramatic fashion. A two yard touchdown pass from Jayden Daniels to Zach Ertz walked it off:
JAYDEN DANIELS AND ZACH ERTZ CALLED GAME IN OT 😤
(via @NFL) pic.twitter.com/9j6amoE8sr
— ESPN (@espn) December 30, 2024
However, what happened just before that play is what’s going viral.
Commanders: Marcus Mariota’s Statement To Jayden Daniels Just Before Game Winning Throw Goes Viral
According to Kaden Harty of Total Pro Sports:
Daniels was the second overall pick of the 2024 NFL Draft, and many consider him the best player selected in the draft so far. Nearly 100 percent of NFL fans believe the former LSU signal-caller will win the Offensive Rookie of the Year award.
Daniels completed nearly 70 percent of his passes in his rookie season for over 3,500 yards and 25 touchdowns, compared to just nine interceptions. Yet he still has one game to go, meaning his stats could increase.
While Daniels may win the Offensive Rookie of the Year award, it hasn’t been all him. The rookie passer has had some help from his teammates, which showed in Sunday’s overtime win over the Atlanta Falcons.
Right before his game winning TD throw, Jayden Daniels was approached by Marcus Mariota:
“Stand up, catch your air, get your wind and go out there and execute. Use your God-given abilities and let’s go win this game.”pic.twitter.com/sAo1TlupO2
— JPAFootball (@jasrifootball) December 30, 2024
Before throwing his game-winning and playoff-clinching touchdown pass to tight end Zach Ertz, Daniels was approached by his backup and veteran quarterback, Marcus Mariota, who gave him some inspiring words.
“Stand up, catch your air, get your wind and go out there and execute. Use your God-given abilities and let’s go win this game,” he said as he embraced the former LSU signal before sending him on his way to win the game.
Here is a look at Daniels’ stats this season:
| Passing | Rushing | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Team | Opp | Result | Cmp | Att | Yds | TD | Int | Lng | Sk | Yds | Att | Yds | TD | Lng | Fmb | ||||||||||||
| 2024-12-29 | WAS | ATL | W 30-24 (OT) | 24 | 36 | 66.7 | 227 | 3 | 8.3 | 1 | 2.8 | 37 | 6.3 | 6.72 | 9.5 | 100.1 | 5 | 31 | 12.20 | 4.78 | 5.15 | 16 | 127 | 0 | 25 | 7.9 | 0 | |
| 2024-12-22 | WAS | PHI | W 36-33 | 24 | 39 | 61.5 | 258 | 5 | 12.8 | 2 | 5.1 | 51 | 6.6 | 6.87 | 10.8 | 99.1 | 1 | 3 | 2.50 | 6.38 | 6.63 | 9 | 81 | 0 | 29 | 9.0 | 0 | |
| 2024-12-15 | WAS | @ | NOR | W 20-19 | 25 | 31 | 80.6 | 226 | 2 | 6.5 | 0 | 0.0 | 25 | 7.3 | 8.58 | 9.0 | 118.5 | 8 | 37 | 20.51 | 4.85 | 5.87 | 11 | 66 | 0 | 24 | 6.0 | 1 |
| 2024-12-01 | WAS | TEN | W 42-19 | 25 | 30 | 83.3 | 206 | 3 | 10.0 | 1 | 3.3 | 25 | 6.9 | 7.37 | 8.2 | 114.7 | 2 | 10 | 6.25 | 6.13 | 6.59 | 9 | 34 | 1 | 12 | 3.8 | 1 | |
| 2024-11-24 | WAS | DAL | L 26-34 | 25 | 38 | 65.8 | 275 | 2 | 5.3 | 2 | 5.3 | 86 | 7.2 | 5.92 | 11.0 | 82.7 | 4 | 8 | 9.52 | 6.36 | 5.17 | 7 | 74 | 1 | 23 | 10.6 | 0 | |
| 2024-11-14 | WAS | @ | PHI | L 18-26 | 22 | 32 | 68.8 | 191 | 1 | 3.1 | 1 | 3.1 | 34 | 6.0 | 5.19 | 8.7 | 81.6 | 3 | 20 | 8.57 | 4.89 | 4.17 | 7 | 18 | 0 | 7 | 2.6 | 0 |
| 2024-11-10 | WAS | PIT | L 27-28 | 17 | 34 | 50.0 | 202 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0.0 | 54 | 5.9 | 5.94 | 11.9 | 68.5 | 3 | 20 | 8.11 | 4.92 | 4.92 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 1.7 | 0 | |
| 2024-11-03 | WAS | @ | NYG | W 27-22 | 15 | 22 | 68.2 | 209 | 2 | 9.1 | 0 | 0.0 | 42 | 9.5 | 11.32 | 13.9 | 128.8 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 9.50 | 11.32 | 8 | 35 | 0 | 16 | 4.4 | 0 |
| 2024-10-27 | WAS | CHI | W 18-15 | 21 | 38 | 55.3 | 326 | 1 | 2.6 | 0 | 0.0 | 61 | 8.6 | 9.11 | 15.5 | 92.7 | 2 | 13 | 5.00 | 7.83 | 8.33 | 8 | 52 | 0 | 13 | 6.5 | 0 | |
| 2024-10-20 | WAS | CAR | W 40-7 | 2 | 2 | 100.0 | 6 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0.0 | 3 | 3.0 | 3.00 | 3.0 | 79.2 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 3.00 | 3.00 | 3 | 50 | 0 | 46 | 16.7 | 0 | |
| 2024-10-13 | WAS | @ | BAL | L 23-30 | 24 | 35 | 68.6 | 269 | 2 | 5.7 | 0 | 0.0 | 28 | 7.7 | 8.83 | 11.2 | 110.3 | 3 | 16 | 7.89 | 6.66 | 7.71 | 6 | 22 | 0 | 9 | 3.7 | 0 |
| 2024-10-06 | WAS | CLE | W 34-13 | 14 | 25 | 56.0 | 238 | 1 | 4.0 | 1 | 4.0 | 66 | 9.5 | 8.52 | 17.0 | 85.1 | 3 | 17 | 10.71 | 7.89 | 7.00 | 11 | 82 | 0 | 34 | 7.5 | 0 | |
| 2024-09-29 | WAS | @ | ARI | W 42-14 | 26 | 30 | 86.7 | 233 | 1 | 3.3 | 1 | 3.3 | 27 | 7.8 | 6.93 | 9.0 | 96.2 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 7.77 | 6.93 | 8 | 47 | 1 | 10 | 5.9 | 0 |
| 2024-09-23 | WAS | @ | CIN | W 38-33 | 21 | 23 | 91.3 | 254 | 2 | 8.7 | 0 | 0.0 | 55 | 11.0 | 12.78 | 12.1 | 141.7 | 2 | 6 | 8.00 | 9.92 | 11.52 | 12 | 39 | 1 | 7 | 3.3 | 0 |
| 2024-09-15 | WAS | NYG | W 21-18 | 23 | 29 | 79.3 | 226 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0.0 | 34 | 7.8 | 7.79 | 9.8 | 99.1 | 5 | 16 | 14.71 | 6.18 | 6.18 | 10 | 44 | 0 | 14 | 4.4 | 0 | |
| 2024-09-08 | WAS | @ | TAM | L 20-37 | 17 | 24 | 70.8 | 184 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0.0 | 32 | 7.7 | 7.67 | 10.8 | 93.1 | 2 | 23 | 7.69 | 6.19 | 6.19 | 16 | 88 | 2 | 17 | 5.5 | 3 |
For All NFL And College Football Content:
Follow me on X (formerly Twitter) at @mcquadewarnold. Also, do not forget to follow us at On Twitter for even more great football content. To read more of our articles and keep up to date on the latest in the world of the NFL – especially with all the NFL trade rumors swirling around and NFL free agency news – college football, and more, click here!
