Commanders' Jayden Daniels addresses costly mistake in loss to Bears

The Washington Commanders held a 24-22 lead over the Chicago Bears with 3:10 remaining in regulation of Monday night's contest when Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels lost control of a soggy football while attempting to hand it to running back Jacory Croskey-Merritt near midfield.

That mistake gifted the Bears with a turnover and an opportunity to complete a drive that ended with Chicago's Jake Moody kicking a walk-off field goal as time expired. After the Commanders fell to 3-3 on the season via the 25-24 defeat, Daniels accepted blame for the fumble that changed Monday's game. 

Jayden Daniels "had a lack of focus" at wrong moment

"I just lost the ball," Daniels admitted, per David Aldridge of The Athletic. "Completely my fault. I didn’t give [Croskey-Merritt] a chance. So, it was my fault. … I’m not going to sit up here and blame it on the elements. I mean, at the end of the day, I’ve got to focus. I get paid to go out there and focus, play in and play out. And I had a lack of focus right there (on the fumble), and it cost us the game."

The numbers show that Daniels was a big reason Washington erased a 13-0 second-quarter deficit. In total, he completed 19-of-26 passes for 211 yards and three touchdowns to go along with 52 rushing yards on 10 carries. That said, a bad first-quarter interception he tossed cost the hosts a chance to put at least three points on the scoreboard: