Commanders legend says what needs to be said about Jayden Daniels and the offense after loss to Cowboys
There's zero doubt that Jayden Daniels is one of the most electric players at the quarterback position, already. Sure, he had a few down weeks and Sunday's loss to the Dallas Cowboys started off very slow. It's clear he's back to full health and ready to go after racking up 74 rushing yards on the […]
There's zero doubt that Jayden Daniels is one of the most electric players at the quarterback position, already. Sure, he had a few down weeks and Sunday's loss to the Dallas Cowboys started off very slow.
It's clear he's back to full health and ready to go after racking up 74 rushing yards on the day. That's the most he's put on the ground since Week 5 against the Cleveland Browns, where he recorded 82-yards.
The Washington Commanders can fully open the playbook once again and it's clear the team needs to use Daniels' legs more. Things really started to open up once Kliff Kingsbury started calling more designed runs in the second half and it almost allowed Washington to climb back into the game and force overtime.
Ever since Daniels was drafted, the debate has been about how to utilize his legs efficiently without risking big hits. He's not the biggest guy in the world at 6-foot-4, 210-pounds and he's already been injured while running. There's certainly a balance there, but with the team now at 7-5 and looking for answers on offense, it may be time to throw caution to the wind, to an extent.
Commanders legend and Super Bowl champ Brian Mitchell believes exactly that and said as much during the postgame show after the loss to Dallas.
"I think we have to get to a point as fans, as a team, coaching everything, let Jayden Daniels play Jaden Daniels' style football," said Mitchell. "Just talk to him about protecting himself, because his legs are going to have to be used if we're going to win football games. [Getting] him on the edge, and that threat to a defense is going to haunt them. The whole thing about it is, everybody has an answer for a person… but when you [can] play, how you play is when you play better, right?
"They got to let him go out there and play, you know, instead of trying to call plays to protect him [and] to keep him in certain areas, let him be the player that you drafted, point blank."
After Sunday's loss, the Commanders are 5-2 when Daniels runs for 44 or more yards. They're 2-3 in games when it's 43-yards or less. He's so hard to take down and Kingsbury can dial up some pretty creative calls that allows to him to get into space, where he can slide when needed, as opposed to a grimy, Tim Tebow-style run where he's taking off into the teeth of the defense and getting hit.
That's the formula for using Daniels' legs and like B-Mitch says, just tell him to get down and slide, instead of taking an unnecessary hit. That's certainly feasible and the Commanders have the personnel and scheme to pull it off.
"I think it's time to go out there and say, 'Hey, let's let these dudes do what they can do.' You know, I understand they're not a finished product, but you have to put more on the plate [in order] to find out how much they can really handle," said Mitchell.
"And when they start handling more, it makes it tougher for a defense."
Regardless of utilizing Daniels' legs, the overall point is certainly there: Kingsbury has to find a way to evolve and grow this offense over the final six weeks/five games of the season or else the Commanders 7-2 start, while still impressive, will become less and less relevant as January approaches.
