Jayden Daniels Has Arrived
Washington fans haven’t been this excited about a quarterback since RGIII’s rookie year…
No NFL franchise needs a shot in the arm like the Washington Commanders. They have had as many name changes as they have playoff wins since 1993, and they’re the only team in the salary-cap era to never win 11 NFL games in a season.
The lack of a franchise quarterback has been their main issue but hope springs eternal with the breakout game rookie Jayden Daniels just had in a stunning 38-33 win in Cincinnati last night.
Jayden Daniels is here.
21/23
294 total yards
3 total TDs pic.twitter.com/wCniO8DKLx— NFL (@NFL) September 24, 2024
It made NFL news as the only game since 1940 to have no punts or turnovers. Daniels has now led 14 straight scoring drives (kneeldowns excluded), the second-longest known streak by a quarterback.
Super Bowl contenders in the NFL come and go quickly. Monday night may have been the birth of something great in Washington and the end of a short run in Cincinnati, which fell to 0-3.
Jayden Daniels Makes History
Cincinnati defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo has been credited for making life hard on quarterbacks like Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen. But he had no answers for Daniels, who set a rookie record by completing 21-of-23 passes (91.3%). The Jayden Daniels stats included 254 passing yards, 39 rushing yards, and three total touchdowns (one rushing). He still hasn’t turned the ball over.
Daniels flashed all the tools. He looked elusive and was smart in protecting himself as a runner after some questionable decisions in Week 1.
Jayden Daniels just made dude touch the ground on a euro step lmaoo pic.twitter.com/YuWsqfpNUL
— John (@iam_johnw) September 24, 2024
But the play of the night, if not the season, was this 3rd-and-7 when Daniels was nursing a 31-26 lead. The Commanders looked very confused about where to line up before the snap, but Daniels still hung in there against the blitz and delivered a dime to Terry McLaurin for a game-sealing touchdown.
JAYDEN DANIELS. TERRY MCLAURIN. THE COMMANDERS.
📺: #WASvsCIN on ABC
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus and ESPN+ pic.twitter.com/bP5qrpGN8q— NFL (@NFL) September 24, 2024
Pretty sweet for a college offense (per NFL rumors), right?
Jayden Daniels and Kliff Kingsbury do have a nice College Offense. It has Washington in 1st in the NFC East and the Bengals in last in the AFC North. pic.twitter.com/u6kvoEnQOS
— Robert Griffin III (@RGIII) September 24, 2024
Washington fans haven’t been this excited about a quarterback since RGIII’s rookie year. Let’s hope they do things right by Daniels this time. He should be the new favorite for Offensive Rookie of the Year.
Are the Bengals Finished?
For a team that talks as much trash as the Bengals, they are in a big hole at 0-3 and threatening to be irrelevant much sooner than expected this season.
Since 2002, 103 teams have started 0-3 and only the 2018 Texans were able to rebound to make the playoffs. That’s less than 1% of teams recovering. There is an extra playoff slot and 17th game now, but the Bengals have already lost two home games as a 7.5-point favorite to teams that weren’t expected to do much this year. Remember, they lost 16-10 to the Patriots in Week 1.
#NFL Teams to lose multiple home games in September as a 7.5-point favorite (since 1970)
1967 Packers (6-7-1)
1978 Patriots (11-5, 0-1 playoffs)
1990 Eagles (10-6, 0-1 playoffs)
2002 Rams (7-9)
2012 Saints (7-9)
2024 Bengals (TBD)— Scott Kacsmar (@ScottKacsmar) September 24, 2024
Next on Cincinnati’s NFL schedule is a trip to Carolina to face a red-hot Andy Dalton, and then it’s the first meeting with Baltimore. Things could easily get worse record-wise.
There’s no easy scapegoat here. The offense didn’t show up for Week 1, the offense had some fourth-quarter mistakes (Joe Burrow’s fumble for a touchdown and Ja’Marr Chase’s penalty) and the defense didn’t close things out in Kansas City, and the defense was just ripped to shreds by a rookie.
They lack discipline and are not playing complementary football. At this rate, put the Bengals on the Bill Belichick coaching watch for 2025.
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