Cardiac Commanders make a habit of last-second magic

ASHBURN — The Washington Commanders can’t stop making magic: Jayden Daniels and his teammates have pulled out five straight last-second victories, including Sunday’s playoff win against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

“It’s awesome,” Commanders coach Dan Quinn said Tuesday. “It’s the best part of coaching — with everything on the line — it’s my favorite part of it all. They don’t always work out in your favor, but just being in that arena, you cannot feel more alive.”

The nail-biting started early this season for the Commanders and Daniels, their star rookie quarterback. They needed a last-second field goal to beat the New York Giants in Week 2 and a season-defining Hail Mary to take down the Chicago Bears in Week 8.

Kicker Zane Gonzalez kept the trend alive Sunday with a game-winning field goal that doinked off the right upright and through the goal post to give the Commanders their fifth straight win on the final scrimmage play — not to mention their first playoff victory in 19 years.

In the last month of their unexpectedly successful first season under Quinn, the Commanders have established an identity as a team that refuses to lose.

In December, the Commanders’ defense needed to stop a two-point conversion against the Saints to leave New Orleans with a win.

Daniels tossed clinching touchdowns to seal victories against the Eagles in Week 16 and the Falcons in Week 17.

Backup signal-caller Marcus Mariota got in on the action in the regular-season finale against the rival Dallas Cowboys, connecting with wide receiver Terry McLaurin in the end zone with 3 seconds remaining.

Throughout the unlikely turnaround, countless praise has been heaped on Daniels. Poised, collected, composed, cool — his coaches and teammates are running out of words to describe the unflappable rookie.

“He was born with that, just how he operates,” wide receiver Olamide Zaccheaus said. “He was just gifted.”

Quinn first clocked it in the home opener against the Giants. With the game tied, Daniels and the offense had two minutes to lead a game-winning scoring drive. The rookie didn’t flinch, according to his coach.

“Just an absolutely locked-in person, not at all deferential,” Quinn said, one day after calling his rookie “a killer.” “It was like he had played that thing hundreds of times. It wasn’t a hope or, ’This should be fun.’ This was going to go down.”

The numbers back up his teammates’ compliments.

Daniels hasn’t missed a beat in the biggest moments this season. When tied or trailing by one score in the fourth quarter or overtime, he’s completed 40 of his 59 pass attempts for 551 yards with six touchdowns and two interceptions — good enough for a 117.3 passer rating and a rookie-record five fourth-quarter comebacks.

But for all the accolades and attention, Daniels can’t identify what makes him so comfortable in these clutch situations — he said he’s felt butterflies occasionally but notes that he’s never been nervous on the gridiron.

He’s attributed the comfort to his faith in God and occasionally referenced early-morning walkthroughs and training sessions with a virtual reality headset.

“I don’t think I’ve ever been nervous because football is just fun for me,” Daniels said. “I’m always prepared for the moment to just go out there and live what happens.”

Across the offense, more repetitions have created more comfort — starting with the spring’s off-season workouts through training camps and early opportunities in close games.

But it doesn’t hurt to have No. 5 taking snaps, either.

On Sunday night, the presumptive Rookie of the Year said that he was laser-focused during his latest game-winning drive.

“It’s just staying in the moment. I don’t worry too much about what the outcome could be,” Daniels said. “When we get an opportunity to go out there, you got to go out there and make some plays. Go do it.”

It takes a village to make magic moments into miracles, according to Daniels and his teammates in the Commanders’ locker room. Since arriving in the nation’s capital, Quinn has focused on creating a culture, ensuring that his locker feels “like a brotherhood, not a neighborhood.”

That relationship-centered approach has paid off on Sundays, the players said.

“It’s the overall experience of this year — playing as one, the constant building of chemistry and the brotherhood along the way throughout OTAs, camp, preseason, into the season,” center Tyler Biadasz said. “Now, we’re coming with the results.”

The Commanders will have their toughest test yet on Saturday night in Detroit — a prime-time matchup against the No. 1 seed Lions.