T
he Washington Commanders only need look at the numbers to measure the impact rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels has already had on the franchise. Not the boxscore from Week 3’s 38-33 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals on Monday Night Football, but at the broader, “bonkers” records and statistics Daniels and the Commanders have set the last two games.
Those hard-to-believe numbers include Daniels producing a 91.3 completion percentage in Cincinnati. It’s “the highest completion percentage by a rookie in a single game in NFL history,” per Nicki Jhabvala of The Washington Post.
Daniels delivered the goods by completing 21 of 23 passes for 254 yards and a pair of touchdowns through the air. He also added a team-leading 39 rushing yards and a score on the ground.
Those contributions helped Daniels become “the first quarterback in NFL history to rush for at least three touchdowns, pass for at least two touchdowns and not throw an interception through his first three career games,” according to Washington Commanders PR, citing Stathead.
Daniels is beginning to hoard personal accolades, but his individual brilliance is also helping Washington’s offense establish more than a few notable firsts.
Commanders Offense Maintained Unstoppable Efficiency
The Commanders selected Daniels with the second pick in the 2024 NFL draft to transform their offense. That’s just what the Heisman Trophy winner has done on the watch of coordinator Kliff Kingsbury.
Daniels and Kingsbury have made the Commanders a relentless scoring machine. One that has produced the following “bonkers” statistics, according to Ben Standig of The Athletic, citing Washington Commanders PR: “scored the most offensive points (21) in the first half since 2018 *scored on every drive in the last 2 games (excluding kneel downs). Only team since at least 2000 to score on every drive in multiple games *is the first team in the SB era to have b2b games with zero turnovers & zero punts.”
Numbers like these exceed even the loftiest expectations for Daniels. He’s having a transformative impact immediately.
In the process, the first-year signal-caller is reviving Kingsbury’s reputation. Not seen in the pros since being relieved of his duties as head coach by the Arizona Cardinals after the 2022 season, Kingsbury has often been disparaged for his collegiate-style, ‘Air Raid’ roots.
Like when Bengals’ cornerback Cam Taylor-Britt derided the Commanders as a “nice college offense” before Week 3. Taylor-Britt and others will be singing a different tune after Daniels used Kingsbury’s system to announce himself in primetime.
Jayden Daniels Became a Star vs. Bengals
The Bengals were unwilling victims to Daniels’ burgeoning stardom, but there was little they could do to stop the inevitable. Awesome arm talent and nifty moves as a runner left Cincy’s defense with no answers.
Those same traits also made it clear Daniels is the game-winner the Commanders hoped he would become. It’s happening ahead of schedule, but the Commanders won’t care about the timing.
Not when Daniels is already playing well enough to make a Hall of Fame quarterback sound like any starstruck fan. In the process, Daniels is providing one thing that’s eluded Washington’s NFL franchise for too long.
Namely, hope. The kind of hope only a special athlete at football’s most important position can provide.
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