Check In As Jayden Daniels Be Come the savior of the Washington Commanders… Red More

It’s easy to identify exactly when a team realized their quarterback was going to be a star. Patrick Mahomes threw six touchdowns in his third career start on the road in Pittsburgh. Joe Burrow had back-to-back games of 400 yards passing against the Ravens and Chiefs to close the 2021 season and win the AFC North for the Bengals en route to a Super Bowl appearance. And now, another LSU quarterback has seemingly had a performance that has everyone saying a star has been born.

Jayden Daniels led the Washington Commanders into Cincinnati on Monday night in his first taste of primetime action against an 0-2 Bengals team who had their backs against the wall. And instead of shrinking under the lights, he stood tall and took command (pun somewhat intended) of the Commanders’ offense in ways a Washington quarterback hasn’t done in a decade. Watching the Commanders offense, it almost felt like they were playing in slow motion with a score of violins echoing off every dot from Daniels to Terry McLaurin, especially the kill shot against cover zero where Daniels was leveled as he dropped a dime to McLaurin in the end zone, and simultaneously dropped a nuke on the Bengals’ season.

Daniels finished 21-of-23 with 254 yards and two touchdown passes and added 39 yards and score on the ground. And while the season is as young as his career, the small body of work he’s put together is eye-opening and has Commanders fans believing they have found their savior.

Daniels is one of only three quarterbacks in the NFL to start all three games and not throw an interception. And when you look at all the advanced metrics, he is currently the second-most efficient quarterback in the NFL. The rookie currently ranks second in EPA per play, adjusted EPA per play, EPA+CPOE composite, and success rate. The quarterback who ranks ahead of him in all of those categories? Josh Allen. And while the Commanders’ offense has been ridiculed for being a “college offense” and featuring too many screens/RPO swing passes, Daniels is sixth in the NFL in completion percentage on passes past the sticks.

While no one should run around exclaiming that Daniels is already the second coming of Michael Vick and Randall Cunningham rolled into one, the early results have been incredibly promising. And for every Washington fan and player that has suffered through years of mediocrity and straight up bad football, it’s hard to not be excited about what No. 5 could do for this franchise.