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Commanders clinch playoff spot with walk-off touchdown pass over Falcons in overtime

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Commanders clinch playoff spot with walk-off touchdown pass over Falcons in overtime

Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels (5) threw the winning score to Zach Ertz. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

The quarterback class from the 2024 NFL Draft was already one of the stories of this season. And it keeps getting better.

Jayden Daniels got the win on Sunday night, sending the Washington Commanders to the playoffs. And that usually would be enough that he wouldn’t have to share the spotlight. But the other rookie quarterback in the game, Michael Penix Jr. of the Atlanta Falcons, was also fantastic in rallying his team to overtime with a great game-tying drive in regulation.

Daniels’ season will definitely be continuing into the postseason. The Commanders clinched a playoff berth with the overtime 30-24 win. Washington won the coin toss to start overtime and took the first drive into the end zone to end the game before Penix ever had a chance to get a possession. Daniels looked like a veteran in moving his team downfield in a pressure situation. On third-and-goal, Daniels hit Zach Ertz for a 2-yard touchdown for the walk-off win. The win also clinched the NFC West title for the Los Angeles Rams due to tiebreakers.

The Falcons now need help to win the NFC South. Atlanta needs to beat the Carolina Panthers in Week 18 while the Tampa Bay Buccaneers need to lose to the New Orleans Saints to give the Falcons a division title.

The silver lining for the Falcons in a loss that likely will cost them a shot at the division crown was that they should have a lot of excitement over their quarterback going forward. All five first-round rookie quarterbacks who have started games have had flashes of brilliance, or in Daniels’ case, a historic rookie season. The question for Falcons coach Raheem Morris in the offseason might be why he didn’t pull the plug on Kirk Cousins and turn to Penix sooner.

The first half wasn’t about either rookie quarterback. It was about Bijan Robinson and the Falcons’ defense.

Robinson had 82 rushing yards before halftime and two touchdowns. Meanwhile, the Falcons defense did a solid job of stopping Washington’s run game and limiting Jayden Daniels. The Commanders scored just once in the first half and trailed 17-7 at halftime.

That changed quickly in the second half. Daniels started running more and the Commanders’ offense came alive. Washington scored quickly, on a Daniels touchdown pass to Ertz, and the Falcons’ lead was down to 17-14. The Commanders’ offense stayed hot on its next drive, and Chris Rodriguez Jr. scored on a 2-yard touchdown run to give Washington the lead early in the fourth quarter.

The Falcons offense couldn’t get in any rhythm, because they couldn’t keep any drives going and Daniels and the Commanders rarely let them have the ball. By the time the Commanders had extended their lead to 24-17, the Commanders had run 39 second-half plays to just nine for Atlanta, and Washington had a 20:20 to 5:08 edge in time of possession.

It looked like the Commanders had taken over the game and would escape with a win behind Daniels’ great second half. But Penix wasn’t backing down.

The Falcons trailed 24-17 in a game they likely needed in the NFC South race, and that’s not a great spot for a rookie in his second career start. But Penix never looked like he was in just his second start.

Penix was impressive in driving the Falcons downfield in the final minutes, including a big fourth-and-11 completion to Drake London for 31 yards. But on first-and-goal a direct snap to Robinson was high and mishandled, and even though Robinson recovered, he was tackled at the 26-yard line, putting Atlanta in a ridiculous second-and-goal position. But the rookie completed a 13-yard pass to London on second down and a 13-yard touchdown to Kyle Pitts on fourth down to tie it with 1:19 to go.

Daniels was excellent in the second half, as he has been most of the season. But in that crucial drive, the Falcons learned a lot about their own rookie quarterback.

After the score, Daniels threw a nice pass to Olamide Zaccheaus on third down but Zaccheaus dropped it and the Commanders punted, giving the ball right back to the Falcons with less than a minute to go. Penix rallied the team downfield and with two seconds left he escaped the rush and threw downfield, which led to a pass interference call on the Commanders. That gave the Falcons a shot at a field goal as time expired. But Riley Patterson’s 56-yard attempt was short and the game went to overtime.

The Commanders got the ball first and Daniels continued to make plays. He had a great scramble for a first down on a crucial third-and-2. The drive kept moving inside the 10-yard line. The Commanders faced a third-and-goal from the 2-yard line, knowing a touchdown would clinch a playoff spot. Daniels hit Ertz for the touchdown, and Washington got one of its biggest wins in years.

Washington is heading to the playoffs. It seems like the rookie quarterback class of 2024 has plenty of postseason berths in its future.

Live39 updates

  • For the first time since 2020, the Commanders are in the postseason

  • Jayden Daniels to Zach Ertz, to the playoffs!

    The Commanders are in. Jayden Daniels was 24-of-36 for 227 yards and three touchdowns through the air, 16 carries for 127 yards on the ground and broke the NFL’s rookie rushing yardage record. It was a brilliant night by Daniels,who’s on his way to the playoffs and probably the NFL’s Offensive Rookie of the Year award.

    Also, the L.A. Rams are in the playoffs with the Falcons’ loss.

  • Jayden Daniels went over 100 rushing yards with that 3rd down rush

    It’s his first 100-yard game in the NFL.

  • Daniels scrambles for 16 on third down

    Just a brilliant run by a brilliant rookie in a huge moment.

  • Washington on the move after winning the toss

    The Commanders are getting it on the ground over the first couple of plays with Jayden Daniels and Brian Robinson doing the lifting on the ground.

  • Playoff tie-breaking notes for overtime

    If the game should end in a tie, the Commanders (10-5-1 with a tie) would clinch a wild-card playoff berth and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (9-7) would then go into the driver’s seat in the NFC South, just needing a Week 18 win to win the division over the Falconswho would enter Week 18 at 8-7-1, and need a Bucs loss to win the division.

  • Riley Patterson comes up short from 56 yards to end regulation

    It would have been a career-best for Patterson, who is in for the injured Younghoe Koo, and the game heads to overtime.

  • Two late Commanders penalties get Atlanta in field goal range

    Twelve penalties for 103 yards for Washington tonight. Michael Davis gets flagged for the pass interference, after a neutral zone infraction foul moved the ball up five yards

  • Falcons near midfield with two timeouts and 12 seconds to play

    Atlanta could have used a timeout after a long completion with just under 30 seconds, but elected not to

  • Washington goes 3-and-out in 29 seconds and now has to punt with just under a minute to play

    And now the Falcons will get the ball back with 40 seconds, deep in their own end with two timeouts, and a chance to win the game with a field goal.

  • PENIX TO PITTS on 4th down for the TD!!!

    Brilliant by the rookie QB for his first NFL touchdown pass on a 4th and goal and Atlanta ties it with 1:19 to go.

  • Falcons lose 21 after botched wildcat snap at the two-minute warning

    The ball sailed over Bijan Robinson’s head, dealing a huge blow to Atlanta, who’ll have a 2nd and goal at the 26-yard-line and need a touchdown and PAT to tie the game at 24. A terrible mistake for the Falcons’ comeback effort.

  • Falcons pick up HUGE 4th and 11

    A questionable holding call got the Falcons behind the sticks, but Michael Penix Jr. found Drake London for 31 yards to the 19-yard-line.

  • Falcons pick up a first down

    Drake London to midfield on a 3rd down to keep the drive going with 4:08 to play

  • Commanders settle for a field goal

    The Commanders had a touchdown come off the board after a holding call, and despite a 2nd and goal on the 1-yard-line, they’ll take a 7-point lead at 24-17. The second half has still been a dominant blowout by the Commanders, who’ve had the ball for 39 plays over 20:20 for 191 yards against the Falcons. Atlanta has run nine second-half plays and gained 14 yards.

  • Jayden Daniels writes his name in NFL history with the most rushing yards by a rookie QB in NFL history

    Daniels passed former Washington quarterback — and fellow Heisman Trophy winner — Robert Griffin III, whose old record was 815 yards.

  • Falcons forced to punt after a first down

    Dante Fowler is wrecking the game on defense. He’s been in Michael Penix Jr.’s face for a bunch of the night, and his pressure forced a huge incompletion. Now, with just over 10 minutes left in the fourth quarter — and Washington coming off back-to-back long drives — the Falcons’ defense needs a big stop to stay in the game.

  • Chris Rodriguez finishes the drive for the Commanders

    After 14 plays, 70 yards over 7:03 of game clock, the Commanders take a 21-17 lead. Atlanta needs anything — a first down, a big play — something to get going. Itsthe beginning of the fourth quarter and Washington has run 29 plays to Atlanta’s three in the second half.

  • End 3rd quarter: Falcons 17, Commanders 14

    Washington ran 25 plays and gained 145 yards in the quarter, while the Falcons ran just three plays and for a total of -1 yard. The two methodical Washington drives have worn down the Atlanta defense and the Commanders are in the red zone, knocking on the door again, with a chance to take a lead to open the 4th quarter.

    Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels (5) passes during the second half of an NFL football game, against the Atlanta Falcons Sunday, Dec. 29, 2024, in Landover, Md. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels (5) passes during the second half of an NFL football game, against the Atlanta Falcons Sunday, Dec. 29, 2024, in Landover, Md. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

    Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels (5) passes during the second half of an NFL football game, against the Atlanta Falcons Sunday, Dec. 29, 2024, in Landover, Md. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

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