It was more than just a playoff win.
Washington Commanders safety Jeremy Reaves proposed to his longtime girlfriend Mikaela Worley following the team’s thrilling overtime win against the Atlanta Falcons, which clinched a spot in the playoffs on Sunday.
Reaves, 28, rushed over to Worley on the sideline at Northwest Stadium in Maryland and got on one knee to ask the physician ᴀssistant to marry him.
Worley, a former Volleyball player at the University of Louisiana Monroe, was seen falling to her knees in tears while putting her hands over her face and telling him, “Yes.”
Following the proposal, Reaves’s teammates rushed over to the happy couple to celebrate.
Commanders Punter Tress Way embraced the pair with a hug while fans cheered in the stands above them as they headed toward the locker room.
The safety said he’d had the ring for some time and was considering asking her last week but opted to wait until after Sunday night’s game.
“That thing was burning a hole in my pocket,” Reaves told the ᴀssociated Press.
However, he knew the Commanders would have to win if he was going to drop to one knee — making the game even more impactful for the 28-year-old.
“I hate losing, so there’s no way I could have done that in the right spirit after a loss,” he said.
“If we win this game, it’s destiny.”
Reaves said Worley has been his “best friend since high school” and has supported him through the highs and lows of his football career.
The safety said he knew Worley was the one when she stuck by him “through the worst” after he suffered a season-ending ACL tear in October 2023.
“She’s earned it. I can’t say enough about her. When I was at my lowest last year, she was there to pick me up everyday. She showed up,” Reaves said.
“I was going through the worst last year coming off an ACL (tear). Couldn’t do anything, couldn’t be my own man and she was the crutch there when I couldn’t do it myself.”
The former South Alabama star was undrafted as a free agent by the Philadelphia Eagles in 2018 before being waived shortly after.
Reaves is in his sixth season with the Commanders after being elevated to their active roster in 2019.
The engagement was the cherry on top of a night full of excitement in Maryland.
The Commanders clinched a playoff spot for the first time since 2020.
If the Commanders (11-5) win their regular-season finale at Dallas next weekend, they could move up to the sixth seed in the NFC and set up a wild-card round game at Tampa Bay or the Los Angeles Rams.
They otherwise would be seventh and visit division-rival Philadelphia unless Green Bay loses to Chicago.
With Post wires
