Every football fan in America is buzzing about the Commanders’ thrilling win over the Bears, particularly the final play, where Jayden Daniels threw a 52-yard Hail Mary for the game-winning touchdown. However, the setup for that play—the second-to-last play—also deserves attention.
With six seconds left and positioned on their own 35-yard line, the Commanders were out of timeouts. They were too far from the end zone for Daniels to throw a Hail Mary right away, so their goal was to get closer and stop the clock by stepping out of bounds. For the Bears, the objective was simple: tackle the Commanders in bounds and end the game.
However, the Bears went with a prevent defense, leaving a large portion of the field open. Commanders receiver Terry McLaurin capitalized, catching a pass from Daniels and stepping out of bounds after a 13-yard gain—a play that took only four seconds. The strategy was so predictable that Tony Romo, commenting on the play, even sketched McLaurin’s route on the telestrator just before the snap. After the play, Romo explained how this move kept the Commanders’ hopes alive.
“That gives them a chance now because they couldn’t have reached the end zone on a throw before,” Romo remarked.
With that opportunity, the Commanders successfully launched the game-winning Hail Mary. So, why did the Bears leave this gap? Bears coach Matt Eberflus offered his reasoning:
“Because you’re defending the touchdown, right? You’re defending the touchdown there. And them throwing the ball for 13 yards or 10 yards, whatever that is, doesn’t really matter. It’s always going to come down to that last play,” Eberflus explained, according to ESPN’s Courtney Cronin.
But, in reality, those 13 yards did matter—they moved the Commanders close enough to make the Hail Mary feasible. Had the Bears played a regular defense, they might have tackled McLaurin in bounds, effectively ending the game.
Eberflus’s defensive strategy failed not only in the Hail Mary but also on the play that set it up. This pivotal decision ultimately gave the Commanders the chance they needed to secure their dramatic win.
