After falling to Eagles, QB Jayden Daniels and Commanders find their season at a crossroads
PHILADELPHIA — Jayden Daniels’ first prime-time appearance was one for the history books and highlight reels. Playing on “Monday Night Football” in Week 3, the Washington Commanders rookie quarterback lit up the Cincinnati Bengals in a 38-33 victory, the declaration of a rising star in the NFL.
His next time playing under the lights did not lead to the same level of hype, as the Commanders fell to the Philadelphia Eagles 26-18 on Thursday. Daniels finished 22-for-32 with 191 passing yards, one touchdown and one interception. But his rating of 81.6 and the 6.0 yards per attempt he averaged were more indicative of his – and the entire Commanders’ offense – night against the Eagles.
“I gotta capitalize. I got to play better,” Daniels said. “Some throws I want back, for sure. I think we all just got to look ourselves in the mirror and say ‘How can we get better moving forward?’”
The loss was barely 100 hours removed from another defeat, a 28-27 disappointment at home against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday. It marked the first time Daniels lost back-to-back games as a pro.
Daniels’ introduction to the NFL featured historic accuracy (in terms of completion percentage) as Washington raced to a 4-1 start. Returning to that level of execution, or near it, will go a long way in helping the Commanders regain some offensive mojo, Daniels said.
“Like I said at the beginning of the season, everything’s not going to be perfect, even though I wanted it to be perfect,” Daniels said. “That just comes with playing the position. You got to go through some stuff. You got to go through adversity. It’s how you respond, so I feel like we’ll respond great. We’ll rest up and get back to it.
“I’m frustrated because we lost. I don’t like losing. I’ve said that many a time.”
A lot has changed since that night in Cincinnati. Yes, Daniels is the heavy front-runner for Offensive Rookie of the Year honors, but a rib injury he suffered in Week 7 against the Carolina Panthers has hampered him.
The 2023 Heisman Trophy winner hasn’t missed a game, but playing on four days’ rest, he told the Prime Video broadcast team he may have been seen grimacing while throwing. Rotating at the top of his motion has been an issue, Daniels has said in the past. Extra padding has been added to his torso and it’s evident the Commanders are calling fewer designed runs for him.
“I feel good,” Daniels said. “I mean, it’s football at the end of the day. Physicality is required in this game, so feel good, just a tough loss.”
Nobody in the Commanders’ locker room or coaching offices will use that as an excuse, however – especially Daniels. If he wasn’t comfortable or able to do what he wanted to on field, he wouldn’t be out there, he said.
“It just shows his heart,” veteran linebacker Bobby Wagner said. “He's a resilient young man. He’s doing a great job for us.”
After the game, offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury made his rounds in the visitor's locker room and sat in backup quarterback Marcus Mariota's stool to confer with Daniels, who suffered a cut to his hand. Bob Myers, the former Golden State Warriors general manager who is now an an adviser to Commanders owner Josh Harris, also spoke with Daniels.
“I’m straight,” said Daniels, who didn't know how the bleeding started. “Just got a little cut.”
Commanders head coach Dan Quinn said Daniels felt the effects of the rib injury most intensely in the immediate aftermath, and Washington’s offense also struggled against the Chicago Bears in that first game post-injury – until the viral “Hail Mary” switched their fortunes with time expired. Daniels’ health has trended better in recent weeks and is something that improves with time, Quinn emphasized.
“The last two games, these are tough,” said Quinn, who deflected blame away from his quarterback. “They test your resolve.”
Washington converted 25% of its third-down attempts (25%) while allowing the Eagles to go 9-for-16 (56%) on third down. Terry McLaurin, Daniels’ No. 1 receiving option, didn’t have a target until the second half and finished with one catch for 10 yards.
“The ball just didn’t come my way,” McLaurin said.
Indeed, rookie cornerbacks Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean have helped turn around the Eagles’ secondary. The interior pressure that discomforted Daniels all evening is another reason Vic Fangio’s unit has kept opposing offenses to less than 20 points scored in five of their last six games.
Through three quarters, Daniels had 103 passing yards and was 9-for-15. Running back Austin Ekeler caught six of those passes (on seven targets) for 81 yards, including the Commanders’ longest play from scrimmage – a 34-yard catch-and-run that set up Brian Robinson’s 1-yard touchdown run to open the game’s scoring.
“He’s doing everything he can to continue to make plays, keep us in a rhythm,” Ekeler said. “We have to do everything we can to support him.”
The losses emphasize the differences between an organization re-learning how to win (Washington) and two teams who have done their fair share of it over the years (Pittsburgh and Philadelphia). Quinn said the high-leverage situations that haven’t gone their way this week are the pivotal moments that have “to go down on our terms.”
“To be the heavy hitters that we want to be, you’ve got to be able to close and be in those (games),” Quinn said. “There’s not a moral victory side of things. It’s just, how do you learn the lessons to close? How do you learn to do that? That’s what we’re going to become.”
The Commanders host the Dallas Cowboys and the Tennessee Titans in back-to-back weeks and then face the New Orleans Saints on the road before their rematch at home against Philadelphia.
McLaurin expects the team’s response to live up to his expectations. The Commanders need to display the proper amount of accountability to move forward and take the time to rehab their bodies to face another division opponent.
“We haven’t lost two straight. So this is new,” McLaurin said. “But for us to be able to get to where we want to get to, we have to be able to overcome adversity.”
The Commanders have taken the theme of “brotherhood” seriously this season, and playing for one another has been central to their revamped locker-room culture. The integrity of those bonds will reveal themselves over the coming weeks, McLaurin predicted.
“I think it’s easy to preach ‘brotherhood’ when everything’s going good and you’re winning and everyone’s having a good time and things like that,” he said. “This is one of those – what your program is built on, this is when it needs to stand out.”