Matthew McConaughey makes feelings known on Jayden Daniels' Commanders' playoff win after 6,945 days

Jayden Daniels has given Washington DC its first playoff win in almost two decades - or a torturously monstrous 6,945 days, to be exact. Actor Matthew McConaughey, one of the area's biggest football fans, cannot be happier.

On Sunday night, Daniels, the second overall pick of the 2024 Draft, completed 24 of 35 passing attempts for 268 yards and two touchdowns. That helped the Commanders win 23-20 at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers after a walk-off field goal by Zane Gonzalez with three seconds left.

McConaughey tweeted:

"Commanders win!! Congrats to josh harris, adam peters, dan quinn, the players, and all fans. Been one here since '74. Hail!!!."

Despite being born in Texas, McConaughey has been a fan of Washington's NFL team since four.

On Rich Eisen's eponymous show in 2020, he said it was because his favorite player, linebacker Chris Hanburger. sounded like "hamburger", his favorite food. He also told WRC-TV, NBC's Washington DC affiliate, that he would paint himself burgundy and travel to Dallas to watch games.

He attended the last game at RFK Stadium and the first game at Northwest Stadium and even has a jar of dirt from the former's endzone. In 2022, there were talks of McConaughey purchasing the franchise from the embattled Dan Snyder before Josh Harris acquired it a year later.

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Jayden Daniels reacts to helping Commanders notch first playoff win since 2005

After the game, Jayden Daniels faced the media to address the monumental win. He began (From 42:37):

“I’m happy for the fanbase, the franchise, everything it’s been through to get to this point. So I’ll just say I’m just grateful and happy for everybody, including myself, too.”

Eventually, the game-winning drive came up during the session. According to him, he actually wanted to score a touchdown, but had to temper his goals for the benefit of the team:

“You go out there and play and make those decisions, but obviously you gotta be smart and don’t wanna give them an opportunity out there, and you never know what happens. So obviously, we get a couple of first downs and slow things down, make them use their timeouts, and we keep going front here.”

Besides Daniels, wideouts Terry McLaurin and Dyami Brown also played major roles, each man covering 89 yards and scoring a touchdown. Bobby Wagner was the team’s leading tackler with five solos, three assists, and half a sack (shared with Dorance Armstrong).

Next for the Commanders are the top-seeded Detroit Lions in the Divisional Round. That game is expected to kick off at 8 PM ET on Fox.