Hail Mary vs Bears and Jayden Daniels improbable TDs - ESPN

ASHBURN, Va. — Every Friday, Washington Commanders quarterbacks and those who coach them gather for a competition. They set up a yellow garbage can in the corner of the end zone and attempt to throw a ball in the bucket from about 20 to 30 yards away. It's a chance to show off their arms and accuracy during a friendly competition.

Rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels has not yet dropped one in the bucket. Others, including some of the coaches, have done so. But Daniels is not bothered by losing this sort of competition.

«It's not a moving target,» Daniels said.

He has a point.

In games, when a perfect pass needs to be made — and when making throws considered to have a low probability for success — Daniels stands out. He leads the NFL with four touchdown passes that, according to Next Gen Stats, had a probability for completion of 30% or less — the most memorable of which coming on Sunday's 52-yard Hail Mary against the Chicago Bears. He has a fifth touchdown that had a 30.4% chance for completion. He has the third-highest completion percentage on throws that have a 30% chance of completion or less, and his 10.9 yards per attempt are the most in the NFL of any quarterback with at least 15 such attempts, according to ESPN Research.

«Regardless of the situation, he feels confident in his ability to put the ball where he wants to,» Washington's backup quarterback Marcus Mariota, who has thrown one in the bucket, said. «Sometimes guys are in those situations and they're hopeful, but he's very in command of that moment.»

Daniels also has three completions on balls that have traveled 50 or more air yards. According to ESPN Research, that's the most such completions since ESPN started tracking air yards in 2006.

«He's not great at