
Jayden Daniels needed just two playoff games to end a 33-year drought for the Washington Commanders. His outstanding performance in Saturday night’s remarkable 45-31 upset victory over the top-seeded Lions secured the team’s first NFC championship game appearance since their triumph over Detroit en route to winning Super Bowl 36.
Daniels shone once again, completing 22 of 39 passes for 299 yards and two touchdowns, averaging an impressive 9.6 yards per attempt with a passer rating of 122.9. Building on his wild-card success against the Buccaneers, he added 51 rushing yards on 16 carries, avoided sacks, and committed no turnovers, further showcasing his all-around excellence.
The two-game stretch is already impressive because Daniels was won in back-to-back road games. Now consider Daniels is the first rookie QB to have consecutive 300-plus total yardage games in the playoffs after ripping Tampa Bay in a similar fashion.
The Commanders now wouldn’t shock anyone if they also win the NFC title and get to Super Bowl 59. Daniels becomes the sixth rookie quarterback to play for a conference crown. The five before him — Shaun King, Ben Roethlisberger, Joe Flacco, Mark Sanchez, and most recently, Brock Purdy — fell just short of becoming the first rookie QB to start in the Super Bowl.
Here are three reasons to believe Daniels isn’t done with his initial Washington run and will become an even greater part of NFL rookie history.
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Jayden Daniels just doesn’t feel like a rookie QB in the playoffs
Watching Daniels play for the first time, one would think he’s a veteran leader who’s played through multiple NFL postseasons. He’s Jayden Cool, making smart decisions while always being in complete command (no pun intended) of the game. He’s proved to be a clutch situational player. Washington was 3-for-4 on fourth downs and 4-for-4 in the red zone against Detroit.
The passing execution is consistent and effective. As he spreads the ball around short-to-deep, outside-to-inside, Daniels also picks good spots in which to take off running, doing more to keep the chains moving than just looking for a flashy splash play.
Daniels made struggling Lions QB Jared Goff look a lot more like an inexperienced passer in relation to him. Whatever experience edge either the Eagles or Rams might think they’ll have vs. Daniels has been rendered irrelevant.
Jayden Daniels isn’t like the rookie playoff QBs who came before him
King, Roethlisberger, Flacco, Sanchez, and Purdy were not dynamic dual-threats like Daniels when they took their swings in the conference championship round. They were leading teams that leaned more on their defense and running games.
Daniels can pose the Rams problems in a non-hostile, controlled road environment. He has played the Eagles twice and proven he can beat them. The other QBs were put in tough situations against better teams, and Purdy was knocked out early from his opportunity — the best of them all with the loaded 49ers in 2023 — against the Eagles two years ago.
The NFC playoff field felt wide open going into the tournament ahead of Super Bowl 59, and unpredictability is proving to be the case. The Commanders have shed their underdog label in how they took down the big dogs in Detroit.
When looking back, those other rookie QBs were often in the role of game-managing caretakers. Washington has put Daniels in the position of playmaker, and his carrying of the team has a lot to do with trusting Kliff Kingsbury’s tailored offensive system and the Commanders’ key supporting personnel.
Jayden Daniels is getting a lot of help at the right times
Daniels has turned Terry McLaurin into the alpha No. 1 receiver who was often left untapped with previous QBs. He has also discovered his big-play No. 2 wideout, Dyami Brown. Veterans Austin Ekeler and Zach Ertz have played their parts, with their Pro Bowl past on other teams turning them into indispensable short-to-intermediate targets for Daniels in the present. The Commanders’ revamped offensive line also has kept him clean.