FRISCO, Texas — Dak Prescott was nervous. He practiced his words in his head over and over. He wanted everything to be perfect.
Not a Dallas Cowboys’ win. Not a pass to CeeDee Lamb. But his proposal to his girlfriend, Sarah Jane Ramos, which came last week during the Cowboys’ bye.
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“The kind of nerves you have going into a game. You’re ready. You’re excited about it, but you want everything to go really, really well,” Prescott said. “For me, I just kept repeating what I was going to say because I heard everybody else and their proposals, ‘Man, I blacked out. I’ve done this and I don’t even know what I said.’ So for me it was to keep it short and sweet.”
Prescott was at a golf course since Sarah Jane loves to play.
“Set it up with a couple friends. She had no idea. She’s a big golfer, thought we were going golfing,” he said. “Told her we had a lifetime to golf. We’ll golf another day.”
Prescott initially was going to propose over the holidays but changed his mind. He bought the ring a few months ago so he was ready. The ring was in a fake golf ball that Prescott brought out after sinking a putt.
“I dropped it and she almost hit it,” Prescott said. “[I said] wait. Just glad she said yeah and just super, super blessed and happy and thankful for this family I started.”
Prescott and Ramos have a daughter, Margaret Jane Rose, better known as M.J., who was born in February. She is named after Prescott’s mother, Peggy, who died of cancer when he was at Mississippi State.
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He thought of his mother as he proposed.
“Getting engaged obviously is a family thing. It’s one thing women grow up thinking about,” Prescott said. “It was awesome to have her parents come up a little bit after and they brought M.J. to see us. But just in reflection how proud my mom would be of the family that I’m starting, the woman that I’ve got. she’s got some similarities to how tough she is as my mom did.”
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© ESPN Enterprises, Inc. All rights reserved.Inside the Commanders’ wild last-second finish vs. the Bears
On the last play of the game, Jayden Daniels heaves a Hail Mary pass that gets tipped in the air and falls into the hands of Noah Brown for the winning touchdown. (1:17)
- John Keim
- Courtney Cronin
Oct 27, 2024, 11:32 PM ET
LANDOVER, Md. — Huddled in the Washington Commanders’ raucous locker room, two half-dressed offensive linemen stared at center Tyler Biadasz’s phone in amazement. They had just witnessed the Hail Mary live, and they wanted to relive it immediately after.
They pointed to the screen, expressed disbelief at what they saw — and then played it again. It won’t be the last time they rewatch 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.
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Though the final play was the most exhilarating, the fourth quarter featured several wild turns, beginning with an ill-fated attempt by the Bears to let a backup offensive lineman score their go-ahead touchdown.
Here’s how the players and coaches in both locker rooms remembered the key moments of 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 leading 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 a lead blocker, but this was the first time he took a handoff. Kramer never had control and defensive tackle Jer’Zhan Newton recovered the loose ball.
At that point, the Commanders had a 75.3% chance of winning, according to ESPN Analytics.
Kramer (via Marquee Sports Network): I appreciate Shane for having the trust in me to call it. I made a mistake, dropped the ball on the 1-yard line.
0:35Jer’Zhan Newton recovers the fumble at the 3-yard line for Commanders
Jer’Zhan Newton is hyped after recovering a Bears fumble at the Commanders’ 3-yard line.
Bears coach Matt Eberflus: No [thought of vetoing the play]. We’ve worked it, worked the mechanics of it, the handoff to him, and we’ve just got to do it better. It’s just wedge blocking, and you’re on the 1-yard line. You’ve got a big guy getting the ball. We’ve practiced it a lot.
Bears quarterback Caleb Williams: Comfort level, 100 percent. It just didn’t go that way, and we just have to execute. … Definitely went over there and made sure Doug was all right. We still had time on the clock. … Definitely encouraging Doug. He played well when he came in, and I know that mistake is bothering him, but I’m proud of the guys.
Washington linebacker Bobby Wagner: That was a great play. That’s a big play. It put us in a position to do this.
As it had throughout most of the game, the Bears’ defense held 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 rumbled in for a touchdown with 23 seconds left. Williams hit tight end Cole Kmet for the two-point conversion and a 15-12 lead.
At that point, the Bears had a 97.9% chance of winning, according to ESPN Analytics.
Eberflus: The defense’s response to [the turnover] was excellent. Go three-and-out, force a punt.
We get it back to midfield and then our offense converts a couple times on third down, get ’em down there.
Washington linebacker Frankie Luvu: I was on the sideline just walking down telling guys, ‘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 one last play from the Washington 48.
McLaurin: We just wanted to give ourselves a chance to put it in a position for Jayden to throw the ball down there, and he has an unbelievable arm.
On the final play, Daniels held onto the ball for 12.79 seconds and scrambled 40.7 yards before the pass. AP Photo/Nick Wass
On the final play, Daniels held onto the ball for 12.79 seconds and scrambled 40.7 yards before the pass, the most yards traveled by any player before throwing a TD pass over the past five seasons. It’s the first TD pass with a time to throw over 10 seconds in the NFL Next Gen Stats era (since 2016). From the time the ball was snapped until Brown caught it, 17 seconds elapsed.
The Commanders had a 1.4% win probability when the ball was snapped.
Daniels: They did a good job blocking, kind of extending, running around to give me enough time to throw the ball.
Allegretti: You’re just trying to hit somebody in a different color jersey. Give Jayden a shot to rip the ball.
Bears defensive end DeMarcus Walker: Obviously, we were trying to get him down. I mean, hats off to Jayden. Incredible legs.
Brown: He did a phenomenal job keeping the play alive and getting the best ball possible.
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Washington right guard Sam Cosmi: Defenders rolled to the right, chasing him, stopped. We pushed them by Jayden, rolled back his left. Nick made a great block. [Daniels] set up and just chucked it in the air. All I saw was a black jersey come 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 was all day. It took forever. I feel like — I don’t know how long — 17 seconds. That’s crazy. … With the play 17 seconds, and everything breaking down and guys running loose, you have ideal ways of doing stuff, and then it’s like you see stuff.
Ertz: Jayden did a great job buying time. I’ve never been part of a scramble drill into the Hail Mary, so it was great by Jayden to get us all down there.
Commanders coach Dan Quinn: Jayden did a fantastic job of buying time. I don’t know how long the play was, but it took a long ass time. Thirteen seconds? Yeah, I felt every bit of them.
Commanders running back Austin Ekeler: There was one moment I was like, ‘Oh shoot’ because he was getting chased down like, ‘Oh, don’t get sacked, don’t get sacked.’ And he obviously is very elusive, so he hung a right and then he got out of there.
After scrambling, Daniels heaved it toward the end zone, where five defenders were in front of Brown, who hauled in the game winner. The pass traveled 65.9 air yards, making it the third-longest passing touchdown by that metric since 2016.
Wagner: When he threw the ball up, you saw everybody was converging on where the ball was at, but nobody was behind the play. And as a defender, we’re coached that there’s always going to be a guy sitting behind and sitting in front, and so they’re waiting for the tip, and you got to make sure you go get it.
Bears safety Kevin Byard: They’re going to have a guy that’s supposed to jump up and catch the ball. We’re supposed to have a jumper, which I was. … I just know it was a big scrum in there. And obviously they executed better than we did.
After scrambling, Daniels heaved it toward the end zone, where five defenders were in front of Brown, who hauled in the game winner. Peter Casey-Imagn Images
McLaurin: Jayden’s kind of aiming for the tip man. We’re going to have a guy in the back end line just in case it goes over. And then we got two guys in the front ready for it. … I was ready for it to be tipped forward. Noah was ready in the back. Luke [McCaffrey] was ready to the side.
That ball fell right into Noah’s arms. I don’t think I’ve seen a Hail Mary fall that perfectly off of a tip drill.
Bears cornerback Jaylon Johnson: There should never be somebody wide open in the back of the end zone. I can’t tell you who was supposed to be there. I don’t know. We’ve all got to find a way to execute better down the stretch.
Brown: That happened to be my assignment for the Hail Mary. … Ertz did a great job getting his hand on the ball, allowing it to get back to me, and we made the play.
Actually, it was Bears cornerback Tyrique Stevenson who tipped the ball. He posted an apology to Bears fans on social media afterward.
Ertz: I don’t think I actually touched the ball. I don’t know what the film says per se, but I’m taking the hockey assist for sure. I know I impacted the play, and Noah ended up with a touchdown and so we won the game. That’s all that matters.
Daniels: I just heard people screaming and our sideline rush the field. That’s how I knew.
Ekeler: The crowd let us know that he caught it. And so that was helmet off and everyone’s running, and you see the eruption from the sideline, which is a moment I’ll never forget from this day is seeing that sideline just come on [the field].
Allegretti: I looked up on the screen and saw the ball get tipped and I was like, ‘Holy s—, there’s a guy there and we caught it.’ Never been a part of one. … I saw it on the screen and didn’t know who caught it until three minutes later.
At least one of the Bears thought a penalty could have been called on the final play.
Walker: I feel like a lot of guys definitely were held and blocked in the back. I seen one illegal blindside block, but honestly just got 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 f—ing free play to beat your guy. My energy was on not letting my guy [McLaurin] get to the end zone. Hitting ’em, being physical. Just trying to do what I can to not let my guy catch the ball.
McLaurin: Jaylon Johnson pushed me on the ground. When we’re in that situation, it’s really anybody’s ball. It’s a free-for-all down there. Refs aren’t going to call holding. Boxing out. It’s physical.
It was the first game this century where each team scored a touchdown in the final 30 seconds of the fourth quarter.
Daniels: That’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
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© ESPN Enterprises, Inc. All rights reserved.Commanders beat Bears on Jayden Daniels’ last-second Hail Mary
On the last play of the game, Jayden Daniels heaves a Hail Mary pass that gets tipped in the air and falls into the hands of Noah Brown for the winning touchdown. (1:17)
- ESPN News Services
Oct 27, 2024, 08:00 PM ET
LANDOVER, Md. — Jayden Daniels had a couple of very simple thoughts going through his head with the Washington Commanders needing to make a long-distance throw to beat the Chicago Bears.
“Buy some time and don’t throw the ball out of bounds,” Daniels said.
Daniels scrambled around for nearly 13 seconds and heaved the ball from the Washington 35-yard line with no time on the clock. The pass tipped off the hands of Tyrique Stevenson short of the goal line and into the waiting arms of Noah Brown, who was standing alone in the end zone, for a 52-yard Hail Mary touchdown that gave the Commanders an improbable 18-15 victory Sunday and sent players, coaches and fans into a frenzy.
It was the fifth go-ahead Hail Mary TD in the final 10 seconds since ESPN began tracking them in 2006. At 52 yards, it was the second longest of the bunch, behind the Rodgers-to-Rodgers Miracle in Motown play against the Detroit Lions in 2015.
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“That was wild,” Commanders coach Dan Quinn said as part of his opening statement to reporters. “That was so much fun, and what I love about the team is that we’re never out of the fight.”
The rookie quarterback never even saw Brown make the catch.
“I just heard people screaming and our sideline rushing the field. That’s how I knew,” said Daniels, whose status was uncertain until hours before kickoff because of a rib injury. “That’s kind of like a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Not too many people get to experience stuff like that.”
Daniels’ heroics came after the Commanders (6-2) fell behind with 25 seconds left on a TD run by Roschon Johnson after a pass-interference penalty put the ball on the 1-yard line. There were just 19 seconds left after a kickoff return to the 24.
Three completions later, Daniels added his best highlight yet to a season that has made him one of the NFL’s most electric players and the favorite to be AP Offensive Rookie of the Year.
“We’re blessed to have ‘5’ leading this team: The things he can do is special,” Brown said. “I wouldn’t want to play with any other quarterback.”
Offensive lineman Sam Cosmi said it was “like a movie.”
“Front-row seats to something amazing,” Cosmi said. “That was just crazy. This will always stick in my head forever. What a moment.”
It was the first game since Nov. 13, 1977, where each team scored a go-ahead touchdown in the final 30 seconds.
In the NFL’s sixth matchup of rookie quarterbacks taken with the top two picks in the draft, Daniels threw for 326 yards and ran for 52. Caleb Williams, taken first by the Bears (4-3), completed four of his first 16 passes and finished 10-of-24 for 131 yards.
Go-Ahead Hail Mary TD In Final 10 Seconds*DatePlayersYdsSun.Jayden Daniels to Noah Brown522020Kyler Murray to DeAndre Hopkins432015Aaron Rodgers to Richard Rodgers612012Russell Wilson to Golden Tate242010David Garrard to Mike Thomas50*since 2006— ESPN Research
Chicago, which had its winning streak snapped at three, had just 172 yards of offense before the fourth quarter started and did not get on the board until D’Andre Swift’s 56-yard TD run late in the third.
“That’s just us shooting ourselves in the foot and that comes from details and focus in the game, throughout the week,” said Williams, a Washington-area native who was playing back home for the first time as a pro. “That comes from myself. I’m included in that for sure. Definitely missed a few passes that I don’t miss typically so, tough, but very encouraging because we stayed in it.”
Daniels was not himself at times and looked a bit off because of the rib injury, which knocked him out of last week’s win over Carolina and kept him from practicing Wednesday and Thursday. He took several hits after letting go of the ball but was at his best when it mattered.
“We knew he had it in him,” running back Brian Robinson Jr. said. “He just showed us today what he’s capable of and how tough he is.”