PHILADELPHIA — Jayden Daniels ran out of time to rally for one more can-you-believe-it comeback.
The rookie quarterback who led the Washington Commanders to six consecutive victories entering the NFC championship game had won the first five on the final play of scrimmage.
All he could do on the final play Sunday against the Philadelphia Eagles was watch the green confetti fly.
Washington’s bid for its first Super Bowl appearance since the NFL’s 1991 season ended with a thud, doomed by three fumbles that led to 21 points and cost them in a 55-23 loss.
Daniels wanted to see the defeat through, even if that only meant handing off the ball on the final meaningless drive. First-year Commanders head coach Dan Quinn had seen enough and gave Daniels a breather. His bid to become the first rookie quarterback to reach a Super Bowl was officially over.
“He has rare competitiveness that makes him unique in a lot of ways,” Quinn said. “I love inside how he can stay into this space in the toughest environments. It hurt him to come out at the end. He wanted to stay in. I said that’s my call. But that’s the competitor. Honestly, he’s just kind of wired in that way.”
Daniels still has enough time to complete the biggest comeback of them all: He can finish Washington’s resurgence that made football meaningful again to scores of fans who lost hope under franchise former owner Dan Snyder with an eventual Super Bowl trophy.
Against the Eagles, an NFC East Division rival, Daniels was forced to trudge off the field in defeat, outplayed by fellow quarterbacks Jalen Hurts and his four total touchdowns and the team well established as the class of the conference.
“Taking this loss pretty hard,” Daniels said. “But having those guys around and be able to just uplift other individuals in the locker room, I appreciate them a lot.”
Zach Ertz was one of those veterans trying to lift spirits in the visitors’ locker room at Lincoln Financial Field. The former Eagles tight ended thumped his chest in appreciation toward the crowd as he walked off the field.
The 34-year-old Ertz, who had 11 catches for 104 yards, knows time is running out on his career. He just wished he had more of it to spend playing with Daniels.
“I wish I was 22 playing with him,” Ertz said. “Had my whole career in front of me with him. That’s tough.”
Daniels passed for 255 yards with a touchdown and an interception and was sacked three times.
“Just year one,” Daniels said. “Everybody not really knowing each other, rookies, the vets did a tremendous job of bringing us in and helping us out. And we all just meshed. And we got to this point, but at the end of the day, man, we lost. It sucks, but we’ll move on from this.”
The Commanders seemed unbothered by the moment on the opening drive of the NFC title game in front of an Eagles crowd that had been wired since parking lot gates opened for pregame tailgating. The Commanders began with an 18-play drive and a field goal that quieted a raucous crowd and showed that — a week after knocking off the top-seeded Detroit Lions — they were primed for a third straight road playoff victory.
The good times wouldn’t last long.
Saquon Barkley ripped off a 60-yard scoring run on the Eagles’ first offensive play, and the Commanders lost a fumble on the next drive. Barkley scored again on a 4-yard run to make it 14-3.
The Commanders lost another fumble on the kickoff after Hurts scored a rushing touchdown. The Eagles again converted off the turnover when Hurts hit A.J. Brown for a 4-yard score.
The Commanders lost a third fumble in the third quarter that set up one more touchdown for Hurts that made it 27-12 and all but sealed the win.
“We’ll give Philadelphia credit. You know, like they caused them,” Quinn said. “It wasn’t like a fumbled snap or something that was reckless in that way.”
To add further embarrassment to the blowout, the Commanders were warned referees could “award a score” after four straight penalties near the goal line while trying to keep the Eagles out of the end zone. Hurts would score anyway.
Washington failed to become just the third No. 6 seed to reach the Super Bowl and third team to beat the top three seeds in its conference on the way there. Only the AFC’s Pittsburgh Steelers in the 2005 season and the NFC’s Green Bay Packers in the 2010 season have done it.
Quinn failed to return to the Super Bowl eight years since coaching the Atlanta Falcons there. They infamously lost that game to the New England Patriots in overtime after blowing a 28-3 lead in the third quarter.
Yet under second-year team owner Josh Harris, a veteran front office, Quinn and Daniels, the Commanders finally have faith in a brighter future.
They went from 4-13 last season to 12-5 this season and believe the best is ahead — even if they’re just not yet at the Eagles’ level.
Said Quinn: “The lessons will be there for us.”