Commanders' Terry McLaurin Says He Called Play for TD to Secure Win vs. Bengals

Washington Commanders wide receiver Terry McLaurin said after the game that he was responsible for calling the play that essentially sealed Washington's 38-33 road win over the Cincinnati Bengals on Monday night.

With the Commanders leading 31-26 and just over two minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels threw a 27-yard touchdown pass to McLaurin, which extended the lead to 12 and essentially put it out of reach.

Speaking to reporters afterward, McLaurin said he spoke to Daniels and offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury during a timeout about calling a go route and giving him the opportunity to ice the game:

"During the timeout I said, 'Kliff, give me a go route to the boundary for the game.' I called it. And I went up to Kliff and Jayden and was like, 'Throw me this ball for the game.' For them to have that kind of trust in me, I think that's maybe one of the first times in my career where the game's on the line and I got to up there and call that play and we executed it at a very high level."

With the unexpected win, the Commanders improved to 2-1 on the season, while the Bengals surprisingly dropped to 0-3.

McLaurin entered this season having posted four consecutive 1,000-yard receiving campaigns, and he accomplished that feat with very little stability at the quarterback position.

During that stretch, McLaurin caught passes from Alex Smith, Dwayne Haskins, Kyle Allen, Taylor Heinicke, Ryan Fitzpatrick, Garrett Gilbert, Carson Wentz, Sam Howell and Jacoby Brissett.

Now, it looks as though McLaurin finally has a franchise quarterback who he can build a rapport with, and it is already abundantly clear that Kingsbury, head coach Dan Quinn and the entire coaching staff have a great deal of confidence in the rookie No. 2 overall draft pick.

Rather than playing conservatively during the fourth quarter, the Commanders got aggressive on offense, as they went for it on a 4th-and-4 instead of attempting a long field goal or punting.

Daniels converted with a nine-yard pass to tight end Zach Ertz, and just four plays later, he took the deep shot to McLaurin on a third down, and it proved to be the winning score, as it put Washington up by 12.

As Daniels got acclimated to the pro game, Washington employed a run-heavy offense over the first two games, resulting in McLaurin making just eight catches for 39 yards.

Rather than getting frustrated, McLaurin put his trust in Daniels in game No. 3 of his career, and it paid major dividends, as he made four grabs for 100 yards in the win, including the huge fourth-quarter touchdown.

In addition to his clutch touchdown pass, Daniels made history Monday night, as his 91.3 percent completion percentage was the best ever by a rookie in a game in which they attempted at least 20 passes, per ESPN's Adam Schefter.

Daniels did not throw a touchdown pass in either of his first two starts, but he threw two on Monday night, along with scoring his third rushing touchdown.

The confidence of Daniels, McLaurin and the entire offense figures to be through the roof following Monday's performance, and it will be put to the test in Week 4 when the Commanders go on the road to face the Arizona Cardinals.