Chris Simms criticizes officiating on Jayden Daniels-Noah Brown Hail Mary game-winner

Chris Simms had one issue with the Jayden Daniels Hail Mary touchdown pass to Noah Brown to give the Washington Commanders the win over the Chicago Bears. As he broke down the play, Simms noticed two holding penalties could have been called before the pass.

“Almost 13 seconds [Daniels] holds the ball,” Simms said on the Sunday Night Football broadcast. “Now I will say there might have been a holding penalty or two as he held the ball for 13 seconds.”

Chris Simms breaks down Jayden Daniels’ MIRACULOUS hail mary to get the win over the Bears. 😲

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And when the NBC crew heard the Commanders’ radio call of the Hail Mary TD pass, Simms mentioned the non-holding calls. “And there was definitely two blatant holds there,” he said before Devin McCourty said the officials should let them play. Simms then added, “I don’t like that they don’t call them.”

There may have been holding on the play, but officials didn’t call since it was the final play of the game, and the chances of Daniels completing the pass were low. Brown caught the pass after a Bears player tipped it in the air.

It’s been a great year for Jayden Daniels

The play came shortly after the Bears scored a go-ahead touchdown. According to ESPN, this was the first game since Nov. 13, 1977, where each team scored a go-ahead touchdown in the final 30 seconds. With Daniels throwing the TD pass to Brown, the Commanders are now 6-2 on the year while the Bears drop to 4-3.

Daniels continues to make his case to win Offensive Rookie of the Year. Along with the Hail Mary TD, the former LSU star threw for 326 yards and ran for 52 yards against Chicago.

“To us, he’s special in every way,” Commanders general manager Adam Peters said after selecting Daniels in this year’s draft, per the Associated Press. “When you really study him as a quarterback, just as a quarterback, he’s really, really good. … He’s the best deep-ball thrower, we thought, in the draft. (And) the way he runs, he kind of takes your soul as a defense.”

“I’m just coming in to compete,” Daniels said. “I’m going to come in and really just trying to play my role, whatever that is. I just want to be the best teammate to help the team win.”