Dan Quinn knew that Jayden Daniels and Terry McLaurin would eventually figure out how to connect with each other. He'd seen enough of it practice to know that it would simply take time for it to happen in a game.

That moment finally arrived during the Washington Commanders' 38-33 win over the Cincinnati Bengals. With less than three minutes left in the first half, Daniels unloaded a 55-yard shot to McLaurin, who made the catch inside the Bengals' 5-yard line. Later in the night with Washington needing a score, Daniels trusted McLaurin again to come down with a 27-yard touchdown that essentially sealed the victory.

"It felt amazing, because I just try to stay patient, and I think when you have a rookie quarterback who is just getting adjusted, I didn't want to put too much pressure on him and make it all about myself, because he's still progressing," McLaurin said.

The plays were pivotal in helping Washington come away from a hostile environment with a win, but perhaps even more importantly, they provided proof that Daniels and McLaurin have chemistry that can create problems for defenses. Now that it's happened in a game, the two want to keep building it.

"You just got to trust him," Daniels said. "And Terry proved to me he can make plays."

That's not to say that Daniels didn't trust McLaurin before Monday's game; there just hadn't been many results from that faith. McLaurin had just 39 yards on eight targets in the first two weeks, which amounted to the worst start of his career. Some of that was because of missed opportunities, like the missed deep shot against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury took part of the blame as well, saying "I got to find ways to get him the football."

So, that's exactly what Kingsbury did against the Bengals, and he did so by letting McLaurin use his speed to get past defenders. He got behind two defensive backs on his 55-yard reception, which helped set up a touchdown on the next play.

For McLaurin, who wanted to be patient with Daniels as the rookie continued to develop, it was a sign of things to come.

"Going forward, we're going to continue to stack on that," McLaurin said. "We put that on film, and I think that's going to open up a lot of other things for us. But for him, to clearly walk that ball to me with the game on the line, those were big-time throws for a rookie to make."

It also helped that Daniels went out of his way to keep working with McLaurin and reassure him that he was going to keep coming back to him even though they hadn't connected much up to that point. McLaurin said the two get reps together "at least once or twice a week" where they're just working on the catch point.

So, McLaurin and Daniels had been putting in the work to nail down their connection. The only thing left to do was make it happen in a game.

"Pieces fell in place," Daniels said. "It wasn't anything specifically, we just kept working, kept growing. And that's the testament to Terry, who he is as a pro. Be able to just be out there and be patient, because like I said before, it's not going to be smooth sailing, going to have some adversity, have some rollercoaster, some ups and downs. So, salute to Terry."

McLaurin used a basketball metaphor to describe his and Daniels' attempts at working together: shooters need to keep shooting, because eventually, one of them will work out.

"When you see one fall [through the net], it gets the confidence going, especially for a young quarterback," McLaurin said. "He couldn't have thrown a better ball in those opportunities."

And McLaurin hasn't been shy about letting Daniels and Kingsbury know when to trust him. He told them to get him the ball with the Commanders facing a third-and-7 up five points in the fourth quarter. The Bengals brought a zero blitz, and Daniels took a shot as he let the ball fly as McLaurin was midway through his route, but the veteran wide receiver backed up his assertions that he could be the one to seal the game.

"He's been telling me ever since the Tampa game when we missed it, 'I'm going to keep coming back to you, so stay ready,'" McLaurin said. "And to have that confidence from your quarterback, that means a lot to me, especially from a young guy. So, for him to walk those two passes to me, it was unbelievable. Those are big-time throws that he's going to be able to build off, so I think that's going to help us going forward."

The Commanders will likely need Daniels and McLaurin to connect again in their Week 4 matchup as they try to match Kyler Murray and the Arizona Cardinals' offense. If the need does arise, McLaurin knows he can count on Daniels to get him the ball.

"The dude is tough, man," McLaurin said. "He's been doing a great job in camp making those throws, but to come out here and do it when you've got to have it with the game on the line -- that's what great players are about, and I think he's going to be well on his way if he continues to work."