Jamison Crowder has only played in four games this season due to injury, but he has one of the most important moments of the year: the game-winning touchdown against the Eagles Sunday that kept the Commanders’ division hopes alive and put them on the brink of a playoff berth.
“It was just a play we have in our red zone package, and we ran it in practice on Friday, and Jayden hit me on the same path,” Crowder told Craig Hoffman after the game. “We got the same look today and it and it came to fruition. That's how we practiced it; I just got on the other side of that backer, and I knew once I cleared him, I just had to turn and look for the ball and it was there.”
Ron Jaworski told BMitch & Finlay on 106.7 The Fan Monday that Jayden Daniels has that ability to throw the ball before the receiver looks and both he and the target know where to find it, and Crowder’s loving the fact that it’s easy to be on the same page with his QB.
“It makes the job easier. I felt like I played okay today; I had a drop on the sideline that I should have caught, but playing with a guy like that just makes my job easier,” Crowder said. “Obviously I try to make his job easier and vice versa with all the receivers, but once you have a guy that can deliver passes and put it where it needs to be, it just makes it that much easier.”
Crowder spent four seasons in DC from 2015-18 before moving on to the Jets and Bills, and he’s now in his second season back with the Commanders – and if you asked him a decade ago if he’d be in a similar situation as he saw his rookie year, he’d have laughed.
“It’s crazy, because right before that last drive, I told myself like I've been here before; I remember 2015 we had a similar game, and Pierre Garcon caught the game-winning touchdown against Philly in the same end zone,” Crowder said. “As I took the field, that’s why I kind of told myself like I've been here before; I’ve seen a game-winning drive against Philly, and it just happened again, and I was the one to catch it today. I reflect on things a lot, but I’m just glad to be back and be a part of it now. We still have some big games coming up.”
Crowder’s back in No. 80 this year after having to wear No.
83 last year, but yeah, he’s seen this result in this number before – although maybe not in a game where they turned it over five times and still won.
“You just gotta stay in it; it’s a long game, and when you have those turnovers and things don't go your way, it's tough, but you gotta tell yourself to keep battling,” Crowder said. “It’s easier said than done, when you have a mistake and you kind of put yourself in a hole like that, but at the same time, you gotta just keep battling, and we did that and were to get the win.”
And just as Terry McLaurin and Jeremy McNichols told Craig and Rooster after the game, the Commanders knew that as soon as their last drive started near midfield, they had everything they needed to get that job done.
“We knew the defense had to go out there and make a stop,” Crowder said. “We put them in a hole, but they went out there and had our back and made a stand, and gave us a shot to win it.”