<
        >

          Commanders QB Jayden Daniels tosses two TD passes

          • John Keim, ESPN Staff WriterJan 12, 2025, 09:13 PM ET
            Close
              John Keim covers the Washington Commanders for ESPN. He joined ESPN in 2013 after a stint with the Washington Post. He started covering the team in 1994 for the Journal Newspapers and later for the Washington Examiner. He has authored/co-authored four books. You can also listen to him on 'The John Keim Report', which airs on ESPN Richmond radio, and follow him on Twitter @john_keim
            Follow on X

          TAMPA, Fla. -- The Washington Commanders picked a good time to have their longest drive of the season, and it culminated in quarterback Jayden Daniels' first career playoff touchdown pass.

          Daniels' 10-yard pass to receiver Dyami Brown capped a 17-play, 92-yard drive Sunday that took nine minutes, eight seconds and gave Washington a 7-3 lead over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

          On the third-and-goal play, Brown was able to sneak behind the Tampa Bay secondary thanks to the attention paid to receiver Terry McLaurin. Brown ran a crossing pattern to the left front side of the end zone -- drawing the attention of a safety and a corner to that side.

          Brown, aligned on the left side, snuck to the back of the end zone, where he was wide open.

          It helped that Daniels had plenty of time to throw against Tampa Bay's four-man rush: 3.94 seconds.

          Washington converted 3 of 4 third downs on the drive as well as a fourth-and-1 at the Bucs' 23-yard line. On a third down from his own 12, Daniels was forced to scramble to his right, but he found tight end Zach Ertz in the middle for 9 yards to kick-start the drive.

          The Commanders had failed to convert a fourth-and-2 from the Tampa Bay 20 on their first possession.

          Daniels completed 9 of 12 passes for 97 yards on his first two possessions and ran five times for 15 yards.

          Later, Daniels tossed a second TD pass of the night, this time a five-yard pass to McLaurin on fourth down to give the Commanders a 20-17 lead with 9:46 remaining in the third quarter.