Jayden Daniels spearhead the Washington Commanders on a memorable run to the NFC Championship game. The team's biggest crowning moment came with a phenomenal upset divisional round road win at the Detroit Lions.
As it turned out, this also ensured that Daniels played the role of spoiler to Jared Goff's dream appearance on a popular series.
Netflix announced that Quarterback would be returning to the streaming service in July after last year's feature docuseries focused on wide receivers. Kirk Cousins will appear for the second time. Cincinnati Bengals signal-caller Joe Burrow also agreed to participate.
So did Goff.
Commanders ensured Jared Goff's docuseries dream became a nightmare
The Lions quarterback knew his team was right on the cusp of something special. Perhaps Goff thought his decision to have Netflix follow him around for the season's entirety would result in a cinematic ending by hoisting the Vince Lombardi trophy.
It looked for a long time as if this dream could become a reality. The Lions overcame some severe defensive injury problems to lock up the No. 1 seed in the NFC by winning no fewer than 15 times. That meant Dan Campbell's squad had an opening bye in the knockout rounds and home-field advantage in front of a raucous, expectant fanbase who'd experienced nothing but misery for decades.
A bold Super Bowl bid was anticipated. Daniels had other ideas.
The Commanders came into their divisional round clash at Ford Field as heavy underdogs. They'd been on a superb run down the stretch and overcame the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in a memorable wild card success on their travels. This represented a different challenge entirely.
It was a test every single player relished. The Commanders got out in front early and never took their foot off the gas. Not even a torn ACL suffered by Sam Cosmi could prevent Washington from another incredible accomplishment to reach the NFC Championship game.
Washington's defense forced Goff into some critical turnovers that proved to be the difference. Fans will get to see this from the player's perspective during the docuseries, which promises to be outstanding viewing for Commanders fans.
After all, they already know how this story ends.
This was a devastating blow to the Lions, especially considering they lost Ben Johnson and Aaron Glenn to head coaching jobs almost immediately after. Washington came unstuck against the eventual Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles, but reaching the final four was far better than even the brightest optimist envisaged before a competitive down was played.
Goff's big debut on Netflix doesn't have a happy ending. Daniels saw to that on his rapid ascent into superstardom.
Building on this momentum will be tricky with a bigger bullseye on Daniels' back than ever, but the Commanders have complete faith in the Heisman Trophy winner. Adam Peters' moves throughout the offseason are a testament to that.
And who knows, perhaps Daniels will be among those featured next time Netflix features the quarterbacks. Although if it gets in the way of his firm focus on football and nothing else, he'll give it a wide berth.