Did the Hail Mary start a Bears Commanders rivalry?
By Andy Davies
“Here comes the Hail Mary with the game on the line and the ball is caught, caught. It’s a miracle. It’s Noah Brown. Oh my goodness This town is going crazy. It’s a madhouse in Landover, Maryland.”
This was the words of Jim Nantz after Jayden Daniels threw a walk off Hail Mary touchdown in the Washington Commanders’ dramatic 18-15 win over the Chicago Bears last Sunday.
It was at this point where a new rivalry formed in the NFL.
Caleb Williams vs. Jayden Daniels
In truth, the rivalry started days before the game. Daniels had injury concerns going into the game. After missing his third consecutive day of practice, Bears quarterback, Caleb Williams reportedly sent a box of rubber ducks in Commanders uniforms to their team facility, appearing to accuse Daniels of ducking the game.
A win like this for Daniels is sure to give him the bragging rights until they next play. Especially given the fact that Williams went one place higher than him in this year’s draft.
Just as we see with the quarterback class of 2020 with Joe Burrow, Justin Herbert, Tua Tagovailoa and Jordan Love, Williams and Daniels will always be compared to each other. They were just one pick apart and were the top two of the entire draft.
Both teams have winning records and with the Commanders (6-2) and Bears (4-3) the second and eighth seeds respectively. There’s a good chance they may meet again in the playoffs this season.
The future of the NFC?
The NFL is glittered with brilliant quarterbacks. However, for many years they have mostly resided in the AFC.
In years gone by, there has been Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Ben Roethlisberger, John Elway, Dan Marino and Jim Kelly. They have all played in the AFC. In today’s game, there is Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson and C.J. Stroud.
There have never been any elite quarterbacks in the NFC in recent times besides Aaron Rodgers when he was with the Green Bay Packers and Brady’s time with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. For years, the NFC has been crying out for some elite QB play in the conference. Williams and Daniels look to be the future of the NFC, along with Green Bay’s Jordan Love.
Jared Goff and Brock Purdy are good but have never been “elite”. Kirk Cousins and Dak Prescott have always been criticised for poor performances in big games. Due to the excellence of Mahomes, the Kansas City Chiefs have dominated the AFC since Brady left the New England Patriots.
This has prevented the likes of Allen and Jackson making a Super Bowl, something many believe would have been the case if they were NFC quarterbacks.
We have seen some duals over the years, whether this be the Allen vs. Mahomes or Burrow vs. Mahomes modern day duels, or the infamous Brady vs. Peyton Manning games over the years. These have caused a rivalry between the fans of the teams and if Williams and Daniels keep meeting in important games, the rivalry will only intensify.
The Bears vs. Commanders could be a rivalry to keep an eye on, with the bragging rights firmly with the Commanders at the time of writing after that play from Daniels to Brown.
ANDY DAVIES
NFL ANALYST
ANDY IS A SPORTS JOURNALISM GRADUATE WITH OVER FOUR YEARS EXPERIENCE OF NFL WRITING AND PODCASTING. ANDY HAS BEEN TO EVERY NFL STADIUM AND IS THE HOST OF THE ACROSS THE POD PODCAST. HE HAS PRESS PASS EXPERIENCE AT THE LONDON GAMES AND MANY OTHER NFL BASED EVENTS, HAVING INTERVIEWED THE LIKES OF AARON RODGERS, JASON BELL, OSI UMENYIORA, DOUG PEDERSON, DERRICK HENRY, TREVOR LAWRENCE AND MIKE VRABEL