Coming off Rookie of the Week honors, Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels took another step forward in his maturation. Daniels earned his first career win in front of the home crowd during his first appearance at Washington’s Northwest Stadium.
Daniels steered the Commanders’ ship to a 21-18 victory over NFC East rivals, the New York Giants.
Despite not throwing a touchdown for the second straight week, Daniels still illustrated his potential and made another compelling argument that he is the most promising quarterback in this draft.
Jayden Daniels completed 23-of-29 passes for 226 yards and rushed for 44 yards. He leaned on short passes early, leading the Commanders to field goals on each of its first three offensive drives. Daniels was perfect on his first ten throws.
His IQ running the football still was on display. He showed his speed and scrambling abilities. However, the Giants blitz pressure got him sacked four times early in the first quarter. Despite the pressure, he still showed he could read the gaps in the defense to get up the field with his feet.
Daniels may make the safe throw, but at least he has remained accurate, ultimately moving the chains with a combination of completions and his feet. He can buy time while moving forward to get yards out of broken plays.
He has had to use his feet more than his head coach, Dan Quinn, would prefer. However, the offensive line has struggled to keep his pocket clean. Last week against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Daniels had 2.35 seconds to throw. That number decreased against the Giants to 2.33.
In addition to not having much time to throw, his wide receivers, as a whole, have struggled to create separation consistently to get open.
Still, when he throws, his ball placement has been precise. Only three of his passes got deflected.
Jayden Daniels looked more comfortable throwing the ball after huge hit
In Week 1’s loss to the Buccaneers, Daniels attempted one deep pass as he overshot wide receiver Terry McLaurin. Daniels relied on short passes and his legs. He did the same early against the Giants in Week 2.
However, he grapples with protecting himself on his runs. It’s an area of weakness that was evident in college. Those concerns get elevated by his slender frame. Quinn has warned him about it. Sunday against the Giants, those concerns about a huge hit came to fruition as Daniels compacted by fellow rookies Andru Phillips and Tyler Nubin.
Daniels was slow to get up, leading FOX commenter and former Washington offensive lineman Mark Schlereth to say, “This one felt like another one where he’s just making that mistake. Get the ball out there. You got a guy off coverage. Right here, throw it! Throw it!”
Daniels missed a play after being helped off the field. However, he returned on the same drive with a new purpose of throwing from the pocket. Daniels looked more confident in taking chances down the field. He settled down in the second half after that devastating hit.
Daniels completed 12-of-16 passes for 139 yards after halftime. The ball got pushed down the field. He targeted his receivers much more compared to his first six quarters.
Against Tampa Bay, Daniels targeted his wide receivers 11 times. That number rose to 18 against the Giants. Surely, Daniels needs to push the ball down the field more to sustain his success in completing passes.
Through his first game-and-half, he relied on his running too often, which can get him into trouble. Keeping his eyes on his progression is imperial. He did that in the second half against the Giants. He felt the pressure more, getting the ball out of his hands. Daniels ate one sack in the second half compared to four in the first.
With the game tied at 18-18 in the fourth quarter, Daniels gave a glimpse of everything he can provide on his game-winning drive. He delivered a deep pass over the middle to wide receiver Noah Brown for 34 yards right after the two-minute warning.
Daniels made a quick pass to Olamide Zaccheaus on the next snap for an eight-yard pickup. Two plays later, Daniels showed off his wheels with purpose. He got around the right edge, evading pursuit until he gained 14 yards and got rolled out of bounds at the Giants’ 10-yard line. That set up the game-winning field goal by Austin Seibert.
Jayden Daniels gives Washington fans hope for the future. He impressed in his first home game. His hit from Dru Phillips was a wake-up call for the Heisman Trophy winner. He was conscious of using his arm and relied on his pocket awareness. As his confidence grows and he trusts his arm talent, he can take more chances getting the ball to his wide receivers.
