The Washington Commanders clinched their first playoff win since 2005 with a thrilling 23-20 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers Sunday.
The Commanders won the NFC wild-card matchup after Zane Gonzalez kicking a field goal as time expired.
Washington rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels, this season’s runaway Rookie of the Year, threw for 268 yards and two touchdowns to set up a divisional round clash with the Detroit Lions.
It’s the third time this season that Daniels has had no turnovers and no punts in a game – those are the only three times on record of a rookie quarterback achieving the feat, per Opta.
Daniels played most of the game against the Bucs with a bandage beneath his right eye after his face was left bloodied following a brutal second quarter collision.
Around the 12-minute mark, Daniels was leveled by Tampa cornerback Zyon McCollum as he pulled toward the sidelines and tried to move the Commanders down field.
Daniels hit the deck but eventually got up, walked to the sidelines, and removed his helmet to reveal the nasty gash beneath his right eye.
Medical experts went to work on the superstar signal caller, wiping away the blood that was pouring down his face.
Cameras cut to a shot of Washington’s training staff patching Daniels up as sideline reporter Melissa Stark explained that the cut was cleaned out and closed up with sterile glue before he reentered the game.
NBC announcer Cris Collinsworth seemingly took exception with the sideline report, apparently unhappy with the amount of coverage Daniels was getting for what he perceived to be not that big of an injury.
“Oh, come on,” Collinsworth said. “We wouldn’t even show that if it was anybody but a quarterback. There wouldn’t be a cut man on the sideline working on him, it would just be, ‘You look great. Good job.’”
It was unclear if Collinsworth was legitimately angry or simply just poking fun at the ‘soft’ perception of quarterbacks in the NFL, but fans caught wind of his comments and weren’t happy as they remarked it was a situation well worth reporting on.
“Cris if it were Patrick Mahomes: “the bravery shown here is incredible!” joked one fan.
“Yes, the quarterback position Cris is pretty important so you know, they’re probably gonna show it…. I’m sorry that confuses you,” posted a second.
“The most annoying commentator in the NFL,” a third commented.
“But if it was Mahomes, Collinsworth would treat the rest of the game as if Mahomes lost a leg,” a fourth added.
Undeterred by the cut, Daniels bounced back and five plays later threw a dart to a wide-open Dyami Brown to give the Commanders the lead.
The 24-year-old continued to impress on his playoff debut, making big, timely plays with his arm and using his legs to eat up valuable yards.
Daniels showcased his big game temperament late in the fourth quarter when the threw a touchdown pass to wide receiver Terry McLaurin on a 4th and 2 to put the Commanders in front.
The Buccaneers soon leveled with a field goal before Daniels got the ball and proceeded to the move the chains with less than five minutes to go, gaining 43 yards.
Kicker Gonzalez then doinked in the field goal to end the Commanders’ 19-year wait for a playoff victory.
“It means a lot, man,” Daniels said. “You could just see all the fans over here, man, they’re waiting for us. They’ve waited a long time for this moment and this feeling, so I’m just so happy for them.”
Daniels and the Commanders will now travel to Detroit to take on the No. 1 seed Lions for a place in the NFC Championship game.
Follow talkSPORT NFL on Facebook
Follow our talkSPORT NFL page on Facebook for the latest breaking NFL news, exclusive video interviews, and the biggest talking points from around the league.
Our dedicated NFL YouTube channel ‘End Zone’ will also keep you across the very latest NFL news with exclusive access and our weekly ‘Rundown’ review show.