In his first game after suffering a dislocated elbow, Jayden Daniels had a chance to cement a much-needed Washington Commanders win in overtime. Instead, the third-year quarterback committed a football cardinal sin, showing off a stunning lack of situational awareness in the clutch, which allowed the rival New York Giants to escape with a mutual tie.
Let's take it to the very end of the extra stanza. With the Commanders just on the edge of the red zone, they had a chip-shot field goal for the win in their back pocket on a second-and-long play with no timeouts remaining. In their effort to make the kick a tad closer, the last thing they could do was get tackled in bounds, leaving essentially no time for the offense to get back to the line of scrimmage,
spike the ball, and take said fateful kick. It's not an ideal scenario, but it's one that usually leads to a win with a normal amount of situational awareness.
The Commanders' coaches certainly understood this dynamic. That's why they called a pass play with a simple half-field read for Daniels. If something were there, he'd dump it off, his receiver would get out of bounds, and the Commanders' field goal would be easier. If not, he'd safely throw it out of bounds because he'd be outside the numbers, and the original field goal attempt would be intact. No harm, no foul.
Daniels did neither. He ate a sack, clearly not knowing the Commanders couldn't stop the clock without spiking the ball. As a result, a surefire Commanders win turned into a deflating tie.
The Commanders can't get the play off in time and this game ends in a tie pic.twitter.com/WmPp6q5hU0
— NFL (@NFL) October 11, 2026
This just can't happen from a starting quarterback like Daniels in this situation. Full stop. These are the sorts of nightmare sequences that coaches all over the league turn into lessons for their respective teams about what you absolutely can't do when managing the end of a game with a shot to win. These are the kinds of moments that get memed into eternity, brutally and ruthlessly.
Daniels is a good young quarterback. It'll still take a while for him to live this mistake down.
This article originally appeared on For The Win: Jayden Daniels ruined a likely Commanders win with a football cardinal sin
