Jayden Daniels, Washington Commanders face season at crossroads

On By Littum

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PHILADELPHIA — Jayden Daniels’ first primetime appearance was one for the history books and highlights. Playing on “Monday Night Football” in Week 3, the Washington’s commanders rookie quarterback ignited the Cincinnati Bengals in a 38-33 victory, the declaration of a rising star in the NFL.

His next time playing under the lights didn’t 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, a touchdown and an interception. But his 81.6 rating and 6.0 yards per carry. attempts he averaged were more indicative of his — and the Commanders’ entire offense — night against the Eagles.

“I need to spend big. I need to play better,” Daniels said. “Some throws I definitely want back. I think we all just have to look in the mirror and say ‘How can we get better going forward?’

The loss was just under 100 hours removed from another loss, a 28-27 disappointment at home to the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday. It marked the first time Daniels lost back-to-back fights as a professional.

Daniels’ introduction to the NFL featured historical accuracy (in terms of completion percentage) as Washington cruised to a 4-1 start. Returning to that level of execution, or close to it, will go a long way in helping 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’d like it to be perfect,” Daniels said. “It just comes with playing the position. You have to go through some things. You have to go through adversity. That’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 times.”

Much has changed since that night in Cincinnati. Yes, Daniels is the heavy frontrunner 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 on four days of rest, he told the Prime Video broadcast team that he may have been seen grimacing while throwing. Rotating at the top of his motion has been a problem, Daniels has said in the past. Extra padding has been added to his torso and it’s clear that 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.”

However, no one in the Chiefs’ dressing room or coaches’ offices will use that as an excuse – especially Daniels. If he wasn’t comfortable or able to do what he wanted to do on the field, he wouldn’t be out there, he said.

“It just shows his heart,” veteran linebacker Bobby Wagner said. “He’s a tough young man. He’s doing a good job for us.”

After the game, offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury made his rounds of the visitors’ locker room and sat in backup quarterback Marcus Mariota’s stool to confer with Daniels, who suffered a hand injury. Bob Myers, the former Golden State Warriors general manager who is now 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 acutely immediately afterward, and Washington’s offense also struggled against the Chicago Bears in the first game after the injury — until the viral “Hail Mary” changed their fortunes over time. expired. Daniel’s health has improved in recent weeks and is something that improves with time, Quinn emphasized.

“The last two games, these are tough,” said Quinn, who deflected blame 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 wasn’t coming my way,” McLaurin said.

In fact, rookie cornerbacks Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean have helped turn around the Eagles’ secondary. The inside pressure that bothered Daniels all night is another reason Vic Fangio’s unit has held its opponents to less than 20 points scored in five of its 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 keep playing, keep us in a rhythm,” Ekeler said. “We must do everything we can to support him.”

The losses underscore the differences between an organization relearning how to win (Washington) and two teams that have done their fair share of that over the years (Pittsburgh and Philadelphia). Quinn said high-leverage situations that haven’t gone their way this week are the defining moments that have to “go down on our terms.”

“To be the heavy hitters that we want to be, you have to be able to close and be in those (matches),” 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 have to become.”

The Commanders host the Dallas Cowboys and Tennessee Titans in back-to-back weeks, 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 must show the right amount of accountability to move forward and take the time to retrain their bodies to face another divisional opponent.

“We haven’t lost two in a row. So this is new,” McLaurin said. “But for us to be able to get to where we want to go, we have to be able to overcome adversity.”

The Commanders have taken the theme of “brotherhood” seriously this season, and playing for each other has been central to their renewed locker room culture. The integrity of those bonds will reveal itself over the coming weeks, McLaurin predicted.

“I think it’s easy to preach ‘brotherhood’ when everything’s going well and you’re winning and everybody’s having a good time and stuff like that,” he said. “This is one of those — what your program is built on, that’s where it has to stand out.”