MAYBE IT REALLY IS JUST 'ONE OF THOSE SEASONS' FOR YOUR COMMANDERS

 

Lots of stuff …

So, some of rookie JAYDEN DANIELS’ late-game 

magic rubbed off on veteran MARCUS MARIOTA. 

Who knew? … Raise your hand if you really believed 

the backup quarterback had it in him to give his best 

Daniels impersonation and bring the Washington 

Football Team from behind for a 23-19 victory over 

homestanding Dallas Sunday… Oh, and take a bow, 

OC KLIFF KINGSBURY. For a couple of calls on 

the game-winning drive including the five-yard TD 

toss to – who else? – TERRY McLAURIN with :02 

to go. 

Earlier, the Commanders attempted the same fade, 

same pitcher, same catcher in the left corner of the 

end zone … and Mariota, having spent most of the 

season watching Daniels become the franchise QB 

the team hasn’t had since … oh, SONNY 

JURGENSEN who is 90 and last played in 1974), 

never gave McLaurin a chance … delivering the ball 

like a brick-layer, with absolutely no touch … This 

time Mariota, 2015 Heisman Trophy winner who 

played collegiatel at Oregon and signed with 

Washington as a free agent after spending last year 

with the Eagles doing virtually nothing, was perfect, 

sending a soft, high-arching ball to the 6-2, 222-

pound McLaurin who made the grab over cornerback

 DaRON BLAND, whose back was to the line of 

scrimmage. By the time the eight-year veteran got his 

hands on McLaurin’s face mask it was too little, 

much too late.

Having rebuilt his reputation, thanks primarily to 

Daniels, the 2023 Heisman winner from LSU and 

No. 2 overall draft choice, Kingsbury now is 

considered a leading candidate for several head 

coaching vacancies, most notably the Chicago Bears, 

and he showed why three snaps earlier. The 

Commanders were faced with an all or nothing, 

fourth and less than one at the Dallas 49 … In 

shotgun formation, Mariota faked a handoff to 

RBAUSTIN EKELER, who was hit immediately by 

LB MICAH PARSONS. When LB MARIS 

LIUFAU, a rookie from Notre Dame, was caught 

watching the apparent end-of-game play by Parsons, 

the 31 year old QB ran by him ... through a gaping 

hole on the left side for 33 yards to the Cowboys 16. 

Veteran safety MALIK HOOKER, who had pumped 

a fist responding to what he thought was Parsons’ 

game-over hit behind the line, barely recovered to 

keep Mariota from going all the way … An 11-yard 

pass to ZACH ERTZ followed by a spike to stop the 

clock later, Mariota completed his heroics … to 

McLaurin whose 13th touchdown reception was a 

franchise record.

The Commanders finished the regular season 12-

6.They hadn’t won that many games since 1991 … 

and four were decided on the last snap from 

scrimmage. “We have a flair for the dramatic … 

that’s for sure,” McLaurin. 29, said … without fear of 

contradiction.

-------  Just when you think the NCAA couldn’t be 

any worse … it decided last week to allow players 

two years of JUCO competition … AND still have 

four years of eligibility remaining at the major 

institution of choice … That’s a minimum of six 

years under the amateur-killing NIL payouts program 

that now will encourage athletes to play as long as 

they can … and put a premium on older players at the 

expense of inexperienced 18 and 19 year olds just out 

of high school … “We’ll have guys 28 and 29 years 

old playing college football. What’s the point, man? I 

don’t get it. I don’t understand it,” Texas coach

 STEVE SARKISIAN was quoted as saying. “I 

totally disagree with it.” … Why stop there? An 

unidentified NCAA official said Friday the governing 

body was considering giving all athletes in every 

sport five years of eligibility … Yeah, and as 

punishment for assorted things, like not being on time 

for a meeting or missing a game-winning field 

goal,we’ll make the culprits go to class. That’ll show 

‘em.

Chances are Sarkisian won’t have to worry about the 

NCAA’s craziness much longer. A noted developer of 

quarterbacks, which is why ARCH MANNING

 chose the Longhorns (a $6.6 million NIL check 

helped, of course) over Ole Miss – where Grandpa

 ARCHIE MANNING played) and Tennessee (uncle

 PEYTON MANNING’s alma mater) … Sarkisian 

already is being courted by several NFL teams … 

and, to date, hasn’t said he isn’t interested.

--------  Did you see where the NFL Ravens’ RB

 DERRICK HENRY collected a $500,000 bonus for 

scoring 15 touchdowns? By contract, he’ll get 

another half-mil if Baltimore wins the Super Bowl. In 

March, the 30 year old Alabama alumnus signed a 

two-year contract that included $9 million 

guaranteed, and he’s already earned $2M in bonuses. 

--------  If you think the New York Rangers are bad, 

you should have seen the Chicago Blackhawks 

Sunday. On home ice, no less, they lost 6-2 to the 

Rangers … who could have made ia lot worse if they 

weren’t the NHL’s gang that can’t shoot straight … 

With IGOR SHESTERKIN on IR, LOUIS 

DOMINGUES, up from AHL Hartford, made 

his first start of the season in goal. Chicago scored 

5:37 in … when defenseman ADAM FOX somehow 

missed a pass for TYLER BERTUZZI, who tipped 

in the puck for his team-best 14^th goal of the season 

… By the time the lowly Blackhawks (13-25-2) 

scored again, the Rangers had five, starting with 

seldom-used JONNY BRODZINSKI third of the 

year at 15:12 of the first period. He was in the lineup 

for the first time in more than two weeks because

 CHRIS KRIEDERwas withheld. Official reason: 

Upper-body injury … although he played in 

Saturday’s 7-4 loss at Washington and gave no 

indication he was hurt afterwards.

Also sidelined … for the fifth straight game (7 of the 

last 8) as a healthy scratch … was defenseman ZAC 

JONES, a native of Richmond and the first player 

born and raised in Virginia to suit up in the NHL … It 

was 5-2 after two periods when ABC’s JOHN 

BUCCIGROSS said, “We can see why Chicago is 

the worst team in the league.” … After all, the 

Rangers (18-20-1) had lost 15 of their last 21 games 

… with rumors of block-buster trades circulating 

around a team that some people thought should be 

favored to win the Stanley Cup … And, nobody will 

be surprised if coach PETER LAVIOLETTE is 

fired. Here’s hoping … Or, for that matter, GM

 CHRIS DRURY.

-------  Compounding the Big 10 crew’s decision not 

to banish Texas’ DB MICHAEL TAAFE for 

targeting in the Peach Bowl against Arizona State … 

when, by any definition, he did … was that referee

 LARRY SMITH checked the replay first.

Until next time …