LANDOVER, Md. — The Commanders just needed one moment. One game, one play, one sign — anything — to show that maybe their steep slide from a Super Bowl contender in 2024 to a bottom-feeder in 2025 wasn’t a true reflection of who they are and where they may be headed.
Just something.
They got it Sunday night from an unlikely source in a 27-26 overtime loss to the Denver Broncos. Yes, a loss.
Treylon Burks, the 2022 Titans first-round pick many deemed a bust after only 27 games in Tennessee, reeled in a one-handed touchdown catch in the third quarter that garnered comparisons to Odell Beckham Jr.’s famous catch for the Giants in 2014.
So much so that even Beckham weighed in on X, posting “13 13,” for their shared jersey number, and “Snagggg.”
With his team trailing, 13-7, and at Denver’s 5-yard line early in the second half, Burks lined up on the right side, at the “X” receiver position. After crossing the goal line with cornerback Riley Moss blanketing him in coverage, Burks turned back to Marcus Mariota as the quarterback lobbed the ball toward the corner of the end zone.
Burks raised his right arm over Moss to high-point the ball, snagging it with his right hand and arching back before the two fell to the ground.
The crowd erupted as Burks stood to his feet and let out a primal scream while flexing for the fans.
TREYLON BURKS JUST MADE AN INSANE CATCH.
DENvsWAS on NBC
Stream on @NFLPlus + Peacock pic.twitter.com/vT5P5AOGwv
— NFL (@NFL) December 1, 2025
“Oh, he caught it!,” Mike Tirico yelled on NBC’s broadcast as his color analyst, Cris Collinsworth, chuckled in disbelief. “Unbelievable touchdown! Insane stuff from Treylon Burks!”
Fireworks shot out of the top of Northwest Stadium and Burks’ teammates, who had known him for all of six weeks, gathered around him to celebrate behind the end zone.
Burks’ control in midair was otherworldly and made even more remarkable by his circumstances — circumstances that have come to embody the Commanders’ final stretch of a season they’d soon like to forget.
Washington’s season went off course long ago, in part because of injuries (and now illness) — the tally is up to 22 players and 92 total games lost this season — but also due to a multitude of mistakes, including missed tackles, big plays allowed, turnovers and a slew of squandered opportunities.
With the playoffs almost officially out of reach, Washington’s final games will be about development and discovery — developing those with potential, and discovering the potential in others — as the franchise builds for the future.
It’s possible Burks ensured his spot.
Burks was the receiver the Titans selected at No. 18 overall in the 2022 draft with a pick they acquired after they traded Pro Bowl wideout A.J. Brown to the Philadelphia Eagles. Burks’ four years in Tennessee were derailed by injuries — turf toe, multiple knee injuries, concussions and then a fractured collarbone he suffered in July. He played only 27 games with the Titans before they waived him in early October.
“We knew he wasn’t there yet, but we said, ‘We’re not going to miss a step with you, man. We’re going to develop you,’” Washington coach Dan Quinn said in the early hours Monday, after Washington’s loss. “And then for him, you see him in there at 6 a.m. wanting to learn it and go. So, the thing I just noticed (was) this is a guy, he wanted to prove it. He wanted to show it.”
Like so many players Washington has signed over the last two seasons, Burks had something to prove. A lot to prove.
Treylon Burks celebrates after his first touchdown catch of the season. (Patrick Smith / Getty Images)
“Everybody’s got a journey, and sometimes they start one way and it doesn’t have to stay that way,” Quinn added. “And coming here, I felt nothing but intensity from him.”
Burks was added to the practice squad in early October, when injuries decimated Washington’s receiving corps, and was signed to the active roster Nov. 4. He made his debut with the Commanders during a dreadful stretch for the team, but he showed promise in a loss to the Detroit Lions — three catches for 58 yards in 21 offensive snaps.
He also showed he was hurt again, but this injury wasn’t going to keep him out long.
The catch he made Sunday night was with his right hand, which had two fingers buddy-taped together. The middle one was surgically repaired on Nov. 10, the day he was supposed to fly to Madrid with the Commanders. Instead, he stayed behind for two weeks of recovery before gearing up for the Broncos.
“If you saw the stitches … (you’d) think there’s no way this guy’s playing next week,” Quinn recalled with a laugh. “And then all of a sudden he’s got a big splint on it. ‘Yeah, I’m good, I’m playing.’”
Turns out, Burks made an eye-popping grab in practice days before his one-handed grab against Denver.
“He caught an in route this week that was probably 10 or 12 feet up in the air on the run,” said Terry McLaurin, who returned from an injury of his own to catch seven passes for 96 yards on Sunday night, including a touchdown on fourth-and-3 in overtime.
“You can see the first-round talent in (Burks’) play style,” McLaurin added. “He’s very physical, he can win down the field. He caught a ball with his finger broken. And he has unbelievable ball skills. … I believe he can really have a future here and he makes us better. So sometimes you just need a change of scenery.”
Washington’s 14-13 lead after Burks’ touchdown lasted all of six minutes. Denver scored again and a back-and-forth ensued until the final play of overtime, when Mariota’s pass on a two-point attempt was batted down by linebacker Nik Bonitto to seal the Broncos’ victory.
Washington’s locker room Sunday night was quiet, but not silent like it has been after so many of its losses this season. There was tempered optimism from the team’s improvement and the return to health of some key players, notably McLaurin.
His return rejuvenated the Commanders’ offense and opened up plays for others, including Burks.
When asked about his touchdown catch, Burks said he hadn’t watched a replay — “Nah, not other than in my head,” he said — and didn’t care to. He hadn’t checked his phone, which surely lit up with calls and texts. And he made little of a play that became fodder for the thousands at Northwest Stadium and beyond.
“Yeah, I broke it three weeks ago,” he said flatly as he glanced down at his still-swollen finger with a long scar. “I just had to make a play.”
