The Washington Commanders suffered a gut-wrenching, 24-25 loss against the Chicago Bears. The worst part? It was completely avoidable if not for Jayden Daniels’ fumble. But while fans and analysts blame the QB for the loss, his teammate came out to defend him in the post-game presser.

Veteran tight end Zach Ertz, one of Daniels’ most trusty targets, was on point later. ”We have no chance of being in that football game without Jayden,” Ertz said. “The plays he made with his legs, the plays he made with his arm, the only reason we were in the game and in a position to win was because of Jayden Daniels. I know he’s the leader of this team. He’s going to ultimately put a lot on himself in the wins and losses. But as a teammate, as a competitor, we have no chance of being in that game without him.”

Daniels was illuminating the venue most of the night, looking fully healthy for the first time in weeks. He threw a picturesque deep pass to Chris Moore for an early touchdown, delivered a tight-window pass to Zach Ertz for a second touchdown, and threw to Luke McCaffrey downfield for a neat red-zone finishing drive.

Despite being put under pressure, Daniels ran through his legs, grinding out a bunch of first downs and keeping drives alive with his agility and coolness. He was 19-of-26 for 211 yards, three touchdowns, one interception, and 52 rushing yards. However, one mistake at the end changed the momentum.

With 3:10 left, Daniels received the shotgun snap in the downpour and ran to get it to Jacory Croskey-Merritt. The heavy rain made the snap slippery in flight, and it left his hands and rolled the other direction. Bears cornerback Nahshon Wright picked it up, giving short field that ended with Jake Moody’s 38-yard game-winning kick with no time left.

Following the loss, Daniels admitted his error. “I just lost the ball, completely my fault,” he admitted. ” I didn’t give Bill a chance, so it was my fault.”

The turnovers hurt, but the bigger picture was still true: Daniels displayed flashes of brilliance and maturity, the sort his teammates, and most of all Ertz, believe will ultimately be the hallmark of his career instead of a disastrous late-game moment.

While Ertz’s comments were nostalgic, Dan Quinn’s were introspective.

Dann Quinn’s take on the loss after Jayden Daniels’ error

The head coach did not hesitate to call things like he saw them, and his assessment of the game committed no mistake in including errors on both sides of the ball as a variable in the result.

“All three phases dug the hole, and all three phases helped get out,” Quinn said. “But we didn’t create enough takeaways to finish minus three. You really don’t deserve to win many games when you’re in that space.”

Quinn was annoyed: Washington’s three turnovers directly cost them 13 points. Daniels’ interception near the end of the first half from deep within the red zone was on a pass to double coverage, which resulted in an easy field goal for the Bears. A minute later, Jacory Croskey-Merritt’s fumble midway on midfield gave the Bears another short field. Those errors consistently robbed the team of momentum and forced the defense to play off the back of their heels.

“So that chance for interceptions, that chance to get some, did not create any,” Quinn said. “Honestly, stood in the form of a run game for both sides. So a lot that needs our attention.”

In the end, Quinn’s message was the attitude of the night, not effort, but execution. Daniels’ mistakes might have controlled the scoreboard, but his toughness and playmaking controlled why Washington remained in the game to win.