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John Keim, ESPN Staff WriterOct 1, 2024, 06:00 AM ET
- John Keim covers the Washington Commanders for ESPN. He joined ESPN in 2013 after a stint with the Washington Post. He started covering the team in 1994 for the Journal Newspapers and later for the Washington Examiner. He has authored/co-authored four books. You can also listen to him on ‘The John Keim Report’, which airs on ESPN Richmond radio, and follow him on Twitter @john_keim
GLENDALE , Ariz. — When Washington Commanders rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels threw the first interception of his NFL career in Sunday’s game against the Arizona Cardinals, nobody felt the need to say much to him.
His teammates and coaches have been around him long enough to know. It’s why the Commanders have long felt good about the player they selected second overall. They expect him to handle anything that happens — good or bad — in stride.
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With Sunday’s 42-14 victory in Arizona, Washington (3-1) has now won three straight. The Commanders won big in part because of Daniels’ penchant for not fretting over a mistake. What happened next: Daniels led scoring drives on five of his next six possessions.
“I wasn’t surprised the way he bounced back,” said receiver Terry McLaurin, the intended target on the interception. “He stayed aggressive, he stayed patient, and he just continued to command the offense. Not too much really surprised me about him.”
Not much has gone wrong for the Commanders’ offense of late, thanks in large part to Daniels’ performance in the first four games.
After Sunday’s win, Daniels is completing 82.1% of his passes, the best mark ever by a quarterback after four games. He also became the first quarterback to complete at least 85% of his passes in two consecutive games.
Without intending to, he also sounded a bit of a warning to the rest of the league.
“We’ve still got room to grow,” Daniels said. “We’re not a finished product at all.”
The same could be said of Daniels, even after completing 26-of-30 passes for 233 yards and one touchdown. He also ran eight times for 47 yards, adding his fourth rushing touchdown of the season. Daniels also has three touchdown passes.
“The kid is special,” tight end Zach Ertz said.
There will be days when the offense struggles more than it has in recent weeks. The Commanders punted Sunday for the first time since the season opener, ending a streak of 16 consecutive scoring drives (excluding kneel-down situations). There will be days when Daniels is contained.
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But what this offense has shown is that others around Daniels can make plays. Offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury, the former Cardinals coach who received a game ball in the boisterous locker room Sunday, has received praise from players for how he schemes them open and for the trust he shows in them.
“Kliff does a great job of empowering us,” McLaurin said. “He knows we’re going to be an aggressive offense.”
But it’s also the chemistry with Daniels and Kingsbury.
“[Daniels] and Kliff are so in sync right now,” Ertz said. “They’re dialed in. It seems like they’ve been playing together in the player-OC relationship for four, five, 10 years the way they are operating right now.”
Because of that, different targets emerge each game. Receiver Olamide Zaccheaus, for example, played five snaps and was not targeted in Week 3 against Cincinnati. He caught six passes for 85 yards Sunday. Running back Jeremy McNichols, filling in for the injured Austin Ekeler, rushed for 68 yards and two touchdowns. This is McNichols’ 11th franchise; he hadn’t scored in the NFL since 2021.
“It puts a lot of pressure on the defense going in week in, week out when you have to account for so many things,” McLaurin said.
Nine different Commanders caught a pass Sunday. A lot of that stems from Daniels’ accuracy and ability to give the receiver a chance to turn upfield for more yards.
“It just makes everybody’s job around you easier,” receiver Noah Brown said. “I mean, there’s nothing better as a wide receiver to know: All you got to do is get open, and if you get open, the ball’s going to be in the right spot. That makes a world of difference and everybody in the room has confidence that Jayden can do that, and he goes out there every Sunday and shows it.”
Commanders QB Jayden Daniels has posted historic numbers through four games. AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin
But a lot goes back to the interception. For one, it revealed to McLaurin something they can improve upon in the future. The Cardinals’ two-deep coverage took his post route away, so next time against that coverage, he might alter his route — knowing Daniels will adjust his throw as well.
The fact that Daniels never flinched after the pick revealed another aspect of his game: He moved on.
“The NFL is always about the next play,” he said. “You can’t go back and fix what happened in the past …
“I guess you could say I kind of got greedy. … It is just, how can we bounce back?”
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Washington has talked about his poise and maturity since he arrived in the spring. The Commanders spent last week training at Arizona State, where Daniels began his college career before transferring to LSU. But he blocked out potential distractions by staying in his room all week and doing what he always does: watch film with teammates.
“I just thought he handled it like a real G,” Washington coach Dan Quinn said. “Stayed steady all the way through in terms of the preparation.”
Which is why an interception turned out to be a chance to show even more of what he could do.
“The way you bounce back to that is really a sign of your character,” McLaurin said. “It’s exciting because we know we’re going to have opportunities to continue to make plays down the field. So there’s nothing that really shocks me about him. The cool thing is to continue to see him come in the following week and be like, ‘This past week’s behind us, let’s move on to the next week.’ And that’s how you really get better. That’s how you have a chance to be a really good player in this league.”
