PHOENIX — The Washington Commanders know Jayden Daniels can dodge defenders when he starts running. What they don’t want is for him to also have to free himself from the ghosts of the organization’s quarterbacking past.
After a near-perfect performance in Monday’s 38-33 win over Cincinnati on “Monday Night Football,” and with fans looking to Daniels as their potential savior, coach Dan Quinn wanted to make it clear that Daniels can’t atone for the sins of the past. He can, however, shape the present and the future.
“I totally understand that our fans are waiting for the franchise QB, but I also don’t want Jayden to feel any ghosts,” Quinn said, “making sure he understands that there’s only one name on the back of that jersey and it’s for him.”
Daniels completed 21 of 23 passes for 254 yards and two touchdowns, while running for one more to help the Commanders (2-1) win on the road. After the game, many players called him “different” and “a solution” while praising his composure in the game’s tense moments.
According to the NFL, Daniels became the first player since at least 1950 to throw for 250 yards and more than one touchdown while rushing for a touchdown and completing at least 90 percent of his passes. His 91.3 completion percentage was the highest ever in a game for a rookie. He ran for an additional 39 yards — and now has 171 on the season.
In three games, Daniels has completed a league-high 80.1 percent of his passes for 664 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions.
But what Quinn doesn’t want to do is compare it to what happened here in the past – or to anyone else for that matter.
“I don’t want to compare him to anybody else because he’s still growing,” Quinn said Tuesday, “and honestly, I can’t wait to see who he becomes. He had an outstanding game, and I was really, really proud of him.”
After the Commanders selected Daniels, he said he didn’t feel any pressure because of Washington’s struggles at the position. This is the seventh straight season the Commanders have started a new quarterback to open the season. They’ve started 10 in the last five years combined. And no quarterback has been the starting quarterback for more than three consecutive years since Mark Rypien from 1989-94.
“I’m just going to come in and be myself,” Daniels said a day after the draft in April.
Being himself has helped rejuvenate a franchise that hasn’t finished with a winning record since 2016.
“He has this way of doing things that allows him to create energy and confidence in other people,” Quinn said. “We don’t want him to feel like there are ghosts out there. We wanted to make sure that was clear. We know how important this position is to him and to the organization, but we also wanted to make sure that everyone was doing it in their own way. And we really saw that.”
Meanwhile, running back Austin Ekeler did not travel with the team to Phoenix in preparation for Sunday’s game against the Cardinals. He suffered a concussion in the third quarter Monday night and returned to Virginia, where the team is practicing. Ekeler also suffered a lacerated ear.
