Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels stole most of the headlines for valiant late-game heroics in Sunday’s losing effort to the Eagles. But NFL fans and coaches who have watched game film are raving about the effort from special teams ace Tyler Owens.
Owens is technically a safety, but the Texas Tech product has made his mark on special teams since joining the Commanders as an undrafted free agent in 2024.
He broke into the mainstream on Sunday, with a rare special teams highlight that impressed even casual football fans.
Owens was lined up as a gunner during a Commanders punt in the second quarter. The Eagles had two players designated to derail him.
They failed.
Washington’s special teams ace easily dispatched both of his adversaries. With a shrug of his long arms, he sent them both careening into the ground. The 25-year-old then squared up to tackle returner Britain Covey, scooping him off his feet and driving him into the grass.
Footage of the play went viral on social media, with praise for the unsung Owens streaming in.
“Not just special teams. This is legitimately one of the greatest football plays I’ve ever seen,” J.J. Watt, the former Defensive Player of the Year and current CBS broadcaster, wrote on X. “It doesn’t get much better than that right there. Every coach in America will be showing this rep to their team this week.”
“That’s what you want,” former NFL coach Rex Ryan said on ESPN’s “Get Up” on Monday morning. “It’s about never stopping. It’s about putting it all on the line. That’s what he did.”
Commanders coach Dan Quinn showed off Owens’ play during meetings with the team on Monday morning.
“It’s one of the proudest plays of his for me. He’s a guy whose speed and strain is always there,” the third-year coach said. “It was just awesome. It was so him.”
The safety’s response to the early praise?
“Thanks, man,” he told Quinn. “That’s what I do.”
Owens has played almost exclusively on special teams throughout his career. The safety is tall, long, fast and a strong tackler in open space. The path to defense starts on special teams.
Starter Jeremy Reaves is clear proof of that. He was a special teams Pro Bowler to start his career before slowly working his way into the defensive lineup. The 30-year-old is a defensive starter for the first time in his career this year.
“Don’t hate on playing special teams,” former Washington quarterback Robert Griffin III captioned an X post of Owens’ play. “It could change your life.”
Quinn calls his core special teams units the roster’s “flagship.” Teams are typically defined by a strong offense, a stifling defense or an impressive balance between the two.
But, according to Washington’s coach, it all starts on special teams — literally. The NFL’s “dynamic kickoff” setup means that almost every game now opens with a live return.
“They’re starting the game for us,” Quinn said. “We love when we can go try to pin them inside the 25. That’s field position. That’s winning. … Now, bring the team on the field with that energy.”
Philadelphia is in the rearview mirror. On Monday morning, Washington started its march toward Dallas, where it’ll face the 0-1 Cowboys on Sunday.
The Commanders may enter that game without a handful of key contributors. Owens, tight end Chigoziem Okonkwo and linebackers Jordan Magee and Frankie Luvu all left Sunday’s game early with a series of bumps and bruises.
None of them were ruled out for the long term, but Quinn plans to provide potential updates about their status later in the week. Owens limped off the field with an ankle injury following a kickoff late in the third quarter. Okonkwo and Magee had hamstring issues, while a groin injury sidelined Luvu at halftime.
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