“He did a phenomenal job of keeping the game alive and giving the best ball possible,” Brown said, “and we got a dub.”

The Commanders controlled most of Sunday's game but only held a 12-0 lead in the third quarter after getting stuck in the red zone three times. The Bears got within striking distance, 12-7, with a TD run by D'Andre Swift late in the third quarter, and Williams came on late to give Chicago a brief lead.

Commanders head coach Dan Quinn told reporters that he wasn't sure his team would win, but he was pretty sure they were in good hands with Daniels, even while playing through pain. Watching Daniels' progress throughout the week gave Quinn the confidence that allowed him to play at all.

“There's a lot of toughness in this guy that's always been there, and I always knew he was a true competitor to the core,” Quinn said. “I don’t know if it turned out differently. It was his first injury that we had to go through together this week to figure out what was possible and what wasn’t.”

Daniels said the injury was “severe” when he threw, which he did 38 times on Sunday.

“But at the end of the day I started the game and wanted to finish it, so there was nothing else that could take me out of the game,” he said.

Daniels called his Hail Mary a “once-in-a-lifetime experience,” even as Commanders fans are starting to expect that level of greatness from the rookie.

“Not many people experience something like this,” he said. It was my first time, so I was obviously thrilled, the whole stadium, the team, the sidelines, everyone.”