So what did it feel to be on the field for ‘perhaps the most incredible win around these parts in a long time,’ thanks to a play that will go down as iconic?
“It’s amazing,” Dyami Brown told Chris Russell after Sunday’s win over the Bears, via the Hail Mary to Noah Brown. “This place hasn’t been winning games in a long time, and just to actually go out there and win it, it means a lot for us and the culture.”
And as the other Brown caught the ball, everyone on the sidelines was just waiting to see whether they could snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.
“It’s kind of weird because you’re just hoping and praying someone catches it,” Dyami said. “Once the ball was in the air and then once it was tipped, he was the only one back there…straight sprint on the field. I’ve watched something like that on TV, and it matched the moment.”
Dyami had just one catch for six yards on the day, but did have what would’ve been a 24-yard reception in a screen called back by penalty – and amidst the glow of the finish, that play, which cost the team a chance to get inside the 10-yard line, was indicative of some of the things the team has to clean up still.
“For us, we hurt ourselves a little bit, but at the end of the day, we still put ourselves in position to win when it came down to it,” Brown said. “At that point it was early, we still had the lead, but those penalties can hurt in the long run. We don’t want that; we just want to go out and focus on those little details just to help us not have that happen.”
All in all, though, the finish, especially given his injury circumstances, just showed that Jayden Daniels has, as Bill Raftery would say, the onions to get it done.
“It just shows the toughness and competitiveness that he has within his game,” Brown said. “He didn't quit, he didn't put his head down; he always kept that momentum going. For a rookie quarterback like that, that's what you want. That frustration of the past is over with, and we just focus on the task at hand, one day and one game at a time.”