The Washington Commanders pulled out a Week 8 win with an improbable Hail Mary catch from Noah Brown that lifted them over the Chicago Bears, 18-15. Here are five takeaways from one of the most memorable wins in franchise history.

1. Jayden Daniels is tough as nails.

The Commanders took every precaution with quarterback Jayden Daniels as they held out hope that he would be able to play against the Bears. They monitored how he felt after treatment and kept him out of practice on Wednesday and Thursday to ensure that he would have a chance to suit up.

It came down to the last few hours, and after a Friday practice where Daniels was pushed hard and a warmup on Sunday, the No. 2 overall pick was cleared to play.

"It was due to all the work that was put in Friday to say, okay, I didn't tell him that until Saturday," coach Dan Quinn said. "'We'll give you the ball.' After he went through that and then warmed up today to make sure there wasn't any setbacks."

It wasn't an easy night for Daniels, as he was hit seven times and sacked twice. Still, Daniels delivered when he needed to against the Bears' top five defense. Aside from hitting the 52-yard Hail Mary (more on that later, of course), he completed 21-of-38 passes for 326 yards -- a career high -- with a 71 QBR.

"I think he's already earned lots of love and respect and trust," Quinn said. "They see how much he puts it in. So, every week there's guys that we don't talk about on the stat sheet that are playing through things and that, and he was another example of that."

2. Caleb Williams was rattled often.

Daniels wasn't the only quarterback that was harassed Sunday night at Northwest Stadium. No. 1 overall pick Caleb Williams saw plenty of the Commanders' pass-rush, and while he did have some impressive plays, the Burgundy & Gold kept him contained for most of the night.

The stats will show that Williams was only sacked twice, but anyone who watched the game could see that he was running for his life all night. It started on the Bears' opening drive, when Johnny Newton took Williams down for a six-yard loss. Jalyn Holmes and Daron Payne got in on the action as well, with Payne getting him for a 15-yard loss on third-and-12.

But other players stayed on Williams and forced him into difficult decisions. Frankie Luvu used his speed to keep Williams bottled up in the backfield, often bringing him down for little to no gain. When Williams managed to break free, he made errant throws that were either too high or off target, resulting in punt or longer down-and-distance scenarios.

Williams had just three completions for 33 yards at halftime and ended the night with 131. Wiliams played a role in keeping the Bears in the game, but the Commanders clearly planned to make things difficult for him. They succeeded.

3. Penalties stifled the offense's momentum.

As much as Commanders fans liked how the night ended, the reality is that it didn't need to come down to a once-in-a-lifetime moment. The Commanders had multiple chances to put the Bears away, but penalties and drops -- two old problems for the Commanders' offense -- prevented them from building a stronger lead.

The Commanders got into the red zone three times and came up short on each trip. Each failed attempt was a brutal blow, whether it was Austin Ekeler dropping a pass through his hands on third-and-12 or Zach Ertz failing to maintain possession on Daniels' pass to the end zone facing a third-and-2. The Commanders did have a 12-0 lead after four field goals from Austin Seibert but could have easily been up by three scores.

Then there were the penalties that pushed the Commanders back into less advantageous situations. A false start from Trent Scott moved the offense back from the Bears' 7-yard line to the 12. Nick Allegretti was called for being illegally downfield, which erased a 24-yard screen pass from Dyami Brown that set Washington up at the Bears' 4-yard line. There was also the back-breaking penalty on Sam Cosmi for being too far downfield that negated a 32-yard touchdown from Olamide Zaccheaus.

The stats point to the Commanders having a much better day with 481 total yards and 23 first downs. However, in a similar case to Washington getting a win over the New York Giants with seven field goals, failing to find the end zone is never a sustainable way to win.

4. The defense kept Washington in the game.

The 12-0 lead that Washington's offense built wasn't ideal, but the defense made sure that it was enough and kept the Bears' surging offense at bay for most of the night.

The Bears came into the game with one of the hotter offenses in the league over their last three games. Williams had led touchdown drives on 13 of their last 15 quarters and led the league in passer rating since Week 4. Against the Commanders, though, things were more frustrating for them, as they punted the ball on six of their first seven drives. Another drive ended in a turnover on downs, as Benjamin St-Just and Luvu combined to hold DJ Moore for no gain on fourth-and-1.

The Bears were second in the league in second-quarter points over their last three games. They were held to zero against the Commanders, marking the first time since 1997 that the team had held their opponents scoreless in the first half of consecutive games.

Momentum started to swing in the Bears' direction after the 56-yard touchdown run by D'Andre Swift, but the defense still managed to come up with impactful plays to keep Washington's hopes alive. Newton, who had three tackles and as many quarterback hits, came up with a fumble at the Commanders' 1-yard line that prevented the Bears from taking the lead earlier in the night. Payne got the credit for the 15-yard sack in the first half, but it was more of a team effort that pushed the Bears out of field goal range.

There were some glaring questions about the Commanders' defense after Week 1. They still have some things to fix, but the unit has made drastic improvements since that loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. They're now 14th in total yards allowed, seventh against the pass and 10th in points allowed. It's one more reason to be optimistic about the Commanders as they enter the second half of the season.

5. The play.

A moment comes around every once in a while that simply doesn't need analysis. We could talk about how the Commanders practiced for the Hail Mary at the end of the game; how Daniels kept a play alive for 13 seconds to give his receivers a chance to get downfield; or how Zach Ertz played a critical role to help tip the pass backwards for Noah Brown to make the catch and send Northwest Stadium into a frenzy.

But instead of all that, it's better just to let the play speak for itself. "I don't think any of us will ever forget the finish of the night," Quinn said, "it was really cool."

Yeah, that about sums it up. Roll the clip.