Commanders focus on upcoming Bears game, leave Hail Mary memories behind

You couldn’t avoid it this weekend, as the Washington Commanders prepared to host the Chicago Bears on Monday night: The constant discussions of the “where were you when” moment for a generation of Commanders fans whose most poignant memories of their favorite team were more infamous than beloved.

Jayden Daniels’ last-second Hail Mary to defeat the Bears last season epitomized a campaign that ultimately featured two playoff wins and a trip to the NFC championship game for the District’s squad.

Players and coaches from both teams aren’t interested in reliving the moment, though.

Coach Dan Quinn hasn’t addressed the play with his team. He doesn’t plan to, either.

“That’s last year’s story. It was awesome, we loved it, but it doesn’t apply to this week’s game at all unless we get into that exact scenario and that exact situation,” he said. “So, then we can talk about it. But until then, we’ve got a lot of stuff to get better at and work on to get ready.”

Daniels was similarly uninterested in reliving the past.

“I don’t want to talk about it. Last year speaks about itself,” he told reporters. “That Hail Mary isn’t going to help us win a game on Monday. So, what’s the point?”

The franchise itself is leaning into last year’s memories for Monday’s rematch. The Commanders will wear their black alternate uniforms for the first and only time this season — the same look they wore for the Hail Mary. The NFL schedule makers are playing into the energy too, slotting the matchup into primetime.

Parking lots at Northwest Stadium are opening up to six hours before kickoff of the sold-out game. The Commanders are asking fans to wear black to mark the occasion.

The parallels are undeniable. Last year’s Hail Mary came as an injured Daniels was still recovering from a rib injury.

This year, the reigning Offensive Rookie of the Year is only one game removed from a two-week absence caused by a knee sprain. He sported a brace on his left leg during last week’s win over the Los Angeles Chargers and could don the device again on Monday.

“He showed a lot of toughness. He was coming back from getting banged up and I thought for him, it just kind of solidified what we already knew about the toughness and who he is and what he does,” Quinn said of Daniels’ 2024 performance against the Bears. “Past that, just some belief. That would be the one thing: that you’re never out of the fight.”

The takeaways are direct and actionable for Quinn and Daniels, who joined the franchise in 2024. But for fans and longtime players — like punter Tress Way — the Hail Mary just meant more.

Way is the longest-tenured player on the team, becoming an unlikely fan favorite during the final years under former owner Dan Snyder.

Even he said he couldn’t immediately recognize how much the win over the Bears meant.

It gave the long-suffering fan base reason to believe that decades of ineptitude had finally passed. Fantasy analyst and long-time Commanders fan Matthew Berry said the play was a message from God. Callers on 106.7 The Fan the next morning noted that it “took all the bad juju out of the stadium.”

“That’s the fun stuff with the fans. That’s why you try to make those plays, because it’s special to them. It’s special to us, too,” Way said. “It’s a great memory.”

The win over the Bears meant more than just an added +1 in the win column or a reason to celebrate. It was a reason for the Commanders to believe in Daniels, then a rookie after being selected with the No. 2 pick.

“It settled in that next week that he’s a special guy; he’s a special talent,” Way said. “For something like that to happen in the first year of his career, it just personified the hope that he gives us, the guy he is, the competitor he is. Man, is he gifted to play the game of football.”

On the other sideline, the Bears are taking a similar approach to Monday night, avoiding discussions about the Hail Mary that doomed their season.

After giving up the last-second touchdown to Daniels and wide receiver Noah Brown, the Bears lost nine consecutive games. The franchise fired then-coach Matt Eberflus during the season and brought on Ben Johnson, formerly the offensive coordinator of the Detroit Lions, to lead the team this offseason.

“We’re a new team and we’re just focused on winning this game this week,” he said on Tuesday.

But plenty of the current Bears were on the field for that shocking moment, including cornerback Tyrique Stevenson, who didn’t notice that the final play had begun because he was trash-talking fans in the stands.

In Chicago, the Hail Mary represents a history the Bears are desperately trying not to repeat.

“I think everybody’s just on the hush now and just ready to attack this game and not let that happen again,” Bears receiver and Maryland product D.J. Moore told NFL.com.

“Honestly, there hasn’t been a ton of talk as far as what happened last season,” Bears cornerback Kyler Gordon said. “I don’t think anyone is really focused on that except for going out there and winning.”

Traumatized Bears fans can breathe a slight sigh of relief: Brown won’t play on Monday. Quinn ruled him out as the veteran recovers from groin and knee injuries. Fellow receiver Terry McLaurin will also miss the game with a lingering quad issue.