How does Commanders' miracle Hail Mary compare with greatest all-time moments?

We can’t rank the Jayden Daniels-Noah Brown 'Maryland Miracle' against the Chicago Bears in the annals of franchise or league history at this point. This is because we don’t know whether it’s an exciting one-off or the birth of a legend.

Just like we didn’t know back in 1996 when Jeffrey Maier snatched the baseball from Oriole outfielder Tony Tarrasco that it would help launch Derek Jeter to a Hall of Fame career. It is still possible that Daniels will not become the superstar every Washington Commanders fan envisions. But if he does - this is a good place for that legend to begin.

And just because it is impossible to rank the play in its immediate aftermath, let’s do it anyway. As Lyle Lovett says, “You gotta try. What would you be if you didn’t try?”

How Commanders' miracle compares to other great NFL moments

There have been too many successful Hail Marys in league history to count. This one wasn’t the best throw - that was Aaron Rodgers’ off-balance heave to Jeff Janis in the 2016 NFC Championship game against the Arizona Cardinals. But the Green Bay Packers went on to lose that game in overtime, so the play’s impact was muted.

It wasn’t the greatest catch. There are a lot of contenders for that honor, but I’ll go with Ahmad Rashad’s backward one-handed grab of Tommy Kramer’s 46-yarder for the Minnesota Vikings against the Cleveland Browns back in 1980.

That was the second of two Kramer-to-Rashad scores in the final two minutes of the game. The win came in the regular season, but it did put the Vikes in the playoffs, so it had a major impact.

Brown caught the ball after one deflection. But in 2013, Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver A.J. Green concentrated through a double deflection to secure Andy Dalton’s 51-yard heave and tie the Baltimore Ravens before losing in overtime.

Nor did Brown have to do anything after the catch. Billy “White Shoes” Johnson sure did after Steve Bartkowski’s 1983 prayer was deflected back into the field of play by a San Francisco 49ers defender.

Johnson caught the ball around the six-yard line with multiple Niners' defenders between him and the end zone. One of the greatest open-field runners in NFL history weaved his way into the end zone for the win.

It wasn’t the most controversial - like 'Immaculate Reception' from Franco Harris - or the most influential, like Golden Tate’s disputed catch that ended an officials’ strike.

And, to be honest, the greatest individual Hail Mary play I ever saw wasn’t even that. It was a 25-yard check-down thrown by Alex Smith to Tyreek Hill against the Dallas Cowboys in 2017.

Hill then ran 40 yards through the entire Dallas defense without being touched. When you have a player like that, the very nature of the Hail Mary morphs.

How Commanders' miracle compares to other great franchise moments

In terms of franchise history, my quick analysis places the Daniels/Brown throw somewhere in the second five, alongside plays like Darrell Green’s chase-down of Tony Dorsett in 1983 and Mark Brunell’s 70-yard strike to Santana Moss to bring Washington from behind against the Cowboys back in 2005 - the second of two late scores involving the duo.

Daniels' throw has echoes of both plays. It was a long, game-winning touchdown like the 2005 play. And Green, like the signal-caller, was a rookie in 1983 and used that play to loudly announce his arrival.

None of those plays figured into playoffs or championships. Neither does the Daniels/Brown play. Not yet, anyway.

If Washington goes on to win the NFC East and make a run in this year’s playoffs, then the play does gain additional stature. Until we see how this season plays out, the famous moments that led to playoff success will always rank higher.

John Riggins’ touchdown run in Super Bowl XVII is the most famous play in franchise history. Green’s punt return against Chicago in the playoffs back in 1998 ranks second on my list.

After that, key plays in meaningful games by the likes of Dexter Manley and Darryl Grant, Terry Orr and Ravin Caldwell, and - surprise-surprise - Green again against the Vikings, fill out the top five.

We can put the latest epic moment right up there with Kenny Houston’s goal-line tackle of the Cowboys' Walt Garrison back in 1973. Like the Daniels/Brown touchdown, that play did not secure a playoff spot or win a postseason game. It came too early in the season. But it resulted in a big win that helped the team reach the knockout stage.

Should the Commanders end up in the playoffs this season, and if the margin of entrance is a single game, then we just witnessed one of the 10 greatest plays in franchise history.

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