LANDOVER, Md. – Huddled in the Washington Commanders’ raucous locker room, two half-dressed offensive linemen stared in amazement at Tyler Biadasz’s phone. They had just seen the Hail Mary live and wanted to relive it immediately afterwards.

They pointed at the screen, expressed disbelief at what they were seeing, and then replayed it. It won’t be the last time they revisit Jayden Daniels’ 52-yard completion to Noah Brown in the Commanders’ 18-15 win over the Chicago Bears.

“I’m going to watch this a couple dozen times,” guard Nick Allegretti said.

Although the final play was the most exciting, the fourth quarter took several wild turns, starting with an ill-fated attempt by the Bears to have a backup offensive lineman score their go-ahead goal.

Here’s how the players and coaches in both locker rooms remembered the key moments from one of the most exciting finishes of the season.

The Bears had a third-and-goal from the 1-yard line with 6:21 left in the fourth quarter and Washington ahead 12-7. Offensive coordinator Shane Waldron sent in the heavy package with backup center Doug Kramer lining up in the backfield. It had been an effective formation earlier in the season with Kramer as the lead blocker, but this was the first time he had been handed off. Kramer never had control and defensive tackle Jer’Zhan Newton recovered the loose ball.

According to ESPN Analytics, the Commanders had a 75.3% chance of winning at that point.

Kramer (via Marquee Sports Network): I appreciate Shane for having the confidence in me to mention it. I made a mistake and dropped the ball on the 1-yard line.

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Jer’Zhan Newton recovers the fumble at the Commanders 3-yard line

Jer’Zhan Newton is excited after recovering a Bears fumble on the Commanders’ 3-yard line.

Bears coach Matt Eberflus: No (thought of a veto on the piece). We’ve been working on it, working on how it works, on handing it over to him, and we just have to do better. It’s just wedge blocking and you’re on the 1-yard line. You’ve got a big guy getting the ball. We practiced it a lot.

Bears quarterback Caleb Williams: Comfort level, 100 percent. It just didn’t work out that way, and we just have to execute. …I definitely went over there and made sure Doug was okay. We still had time on the clock. …Definitely encouraging for Doug. He played well when he came in and I know he suffers from that mistake, but I’m proud of the boys.

Washington linebacker Bobby Wagner: That was a great play. That’s a big play. It has put us in a position to do this.

As was the case for most of the game, the Bears’ defense held firm after the turnover, forcing a three-and-out. The Bears regained possession at their own 32 with 4:21 remaining. Williams marched the Bears to the Washington 12, and on fourth-and-3, he attempted a pass to Keenan Allen in the end zone. A pass interference penalty on Benjamin St-Juste kept the Bears alive, and two plays later, Roschon Johnson ran in for a touchdown with 23 seconds left. Williams hit tight end Cole Kmet for the two-point conversion and a 15-12 lead.

According to ESPN Analytics, the Bears had a 97.9% chance of winning at that point.

Eberflus: The defense’s response to (the turnover) was excellent. Go three-and-out, force a punt.

We bring it back to midfield and then our attack converts a few times on third, get them down there.

Washington linebacker Frankie Luvu: I stood on the sideline and walked up to the guys and said, ‘Head up, man. It’s not over yet.’

The Commanders took over at their own 24 with 19 seconds left. Daniels hit tight end Zach Ertz with an 11-yard pass over the middle to set up first-and-10 at the 35, and Washington called a timeout with six seconds left. Terry McLaurin caught a 13-yard pass and was able to get out of bounds in time for a final play from the Washington 48.

McLaurin: We just wanted to give ourselves the opportunity to have Jayden throw the ball out there, and he has an incredible arm.

On the final play, Daniels held the ball for 12.79 seconds and scrambled 40.7 yards for the pass, the most yards a player had traveled before throwing a TD pass in the past five seasons. It is the first TD pass with a time exceeding 10 seconds in the NFL Next Gen Stats era (since 2016). From the time the ball was hit until Brown caught it, 17 seconds passed.

The Commanders had a 1.4% win probability when the ball was snapped.

Daniels: They did a good job of blocking, expanding a little bit, running around to give me enough time to throw the ball.

Allegretti: You’re just trying to hit someone in a different color jersey. Give Jayden a chance to rip the ball.

Bears defensive end DeMarcus Walker: Obviously we were trying to take him down. I mean, hats off to Jayden. Incredible legs.

Brown: He did a phenomenal job of keeping the game alive and getting the best ball possible.

Washington right guard Sam Cosmi: Defenders rolled to the right, chased him and stopped. We pushed them past Jayden and rolled his left side back. Nick made a great block. (Daniels) set up and just threw it in the air. All I saw was a black sweater coming down with it and just went crazy.

Bears safety Elijah Hicks (playing for Jaquan Brisker, who missed the game with a concussion): It felt like that play lasted all day. It took forever. I feel like – I don’t know how long – 17 seconds. That’s crazy. … With a 17-second game, everything breaking down and guys running wild, you have ideal ways of doing things, and then it’s like you see things.

Ertz: Jayden did a great job saving time. I’ve never participated in a scramble drill to the Hail Mary, so it was great of Jayden to get us all there.

Commanders coach Dan Quinn: Jayden did a fantastic job saving time. I don’t know how long the piece lasted, but it lasted a very long time. Thirteen seconds? Yes, I felt them all.

Commanders pursuing Austin Ekeler: There was a moment where I was like, ‘Oh shoot,’ because he was being chased like, ‘Oh, don’t get fired, don’t get fired.’ And he’s obviously very elusive, so he stuck to the right and got out of there.

After scrambling, Daniels pushed him toward the end zone, where five defenders lined up for Brown, who netted the game winner. The pass traveled 65.9 air yards, making it the third-longest passing touchdown since 2016 by that measure.

Wagner: When he threw the ball up, you saw everyone congregating where the ball was, but no one was behind the play. And as a defender, we’ve learned that there’s always a man behind and in front, and so they wait for the tip, and you have to make sure you get it.

Bears safety Kevin Byard: They’ll have a guy who has to jump up and catch the ball. We should have a sweater, and so I was. … I just know it was a big struggle in there. And of course they performed better than us.

McLaurin: Jayden takes a bit of aim at the tipman. There’s someone in the back, just in case it rings. And then we had two guys up front who were ready. …I was ready to be tilted forward. Noah was ready in the back. Luke (McCaffrey) was ready on the sidelines.

That ball fell straight into Noah’s arms. I don’t think I’ve seen a Hail Mary fall off a drill so perfectly.

Bears cornerback Jaylon Johnson: No one should ever be wide open in the back of the end zone. I can’t tell you who should be there. Don’t know. We all have to find a way to perform better along the way.

Brown: That happened to be my assignment for the Hail Mary. … Ertz did a great job getting his hand on the ball, getting it back to me, and we made the play.

Actually, it was Bears cornerback Tyrique Stevenson who tapped the ball. He then posted an apology to Bears fans on social media.

To Chicago and teammates, I apologize for the lack of awareness and focus. The game isn’t over until the clock hits zeros. I can’t take anything for granted. Notes have been taken, improvements will occur. #Beardown

— Tyrique Stevenson (@dreamchaserTy10) October 28, 2024

Ertz: I don’t think I actually touched the ball. I don’t necessarily know what the movie says, but I’ll definitely take the hockey assist. I know I had an impact on the game, and Noah finished with a touchdown and so we won the game. That’s all that matters.

Daniels: I just heard people screaming and our sideline rushing across the field. That’s how I knew.

Ekeler: The crowd informed us that he had caught it. And so the helmet was off and everyone was running, and you see the eruption from the sideline, which is a moment that I will never forget from this day: seeing that sideline (the field).

Allegretti: I looked up at the screen and saw the ball being tipped and I thought, ‘Holy s—, there’s a guy there and we caught him.’ Never been part of it. …I saw it on the screen and didn’t know who saw it until three minutes later.

At least one of the Bears thought a penalty could have been called on the last play.

Hiker: I feel like a lot of guys were definitely held and blocked in the back. I saw one illegal blindside block, but honestly I just had to finish on the quarterback.

Johnson: It’s a Hail Mary, they’re not going to call a holding, they’re not going to call pass interference. It’s a damn free game to beat your man. My energy was focused on not letting my guy (McLaurin) get into the end zone. Touching them, being physical. I just try to do what I can so my husband can’t catch the ball.

McLaurin: Jaylon Johnson pushed me to the ground. When we’re in a situation like that, it’s really anyone’s ball. It’s free down there. The referees are not going to call holding. Boxing. It’s physical.

It was the first game this century in which each team scored a touchdown in the final 30 seconds of the fourth quarter.

Daniels: That is a unique experience.