Jayden Daniels shows once again he's ready for the NFL spotlight, but the rest of the Commanders shrink in bad loss to Eagles
The magical 2024 season for the Washington Commanders came to an end in brutal fashion to the Philadelphia Eagles by a score of 55-23. Looking at the score, you might think it was due to having a rookie quarterback in the backfield and he wasn't ready for the moment. The reality is the exact opposite. […]
The magical 2024 season for the Washington Commanders came to an end in brutal fashion to the Philadelphia Eagles by a score of 55-23.
Looking at the score, you might think it was due to having a rookie quarterback in the backfield and he wasn't ready for the moment. The reality is the exact opposite.
Jayden Daniels was ready for the moment and played like it.
It started on the first drive of the game. Daniels led the Commanders 54 yards down the field on 18 plays. They ended up with just a field goal, but they converted two third downs and three fourth downs to put points on the board.
It was really impressive how the Commanders did so. Offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury didn't mess around getting Daniels into a rhythm. A lot of short passes, run/pass options, and easy reads got him into a flow early on and he looked poised in the pocket the entire game.
Ultimately, things took a turn on the second drive of the game when wide receiver Dyami Brown fumbled the ball away and the Commanders were left chasing the Eagles consistently.
The Commanders turned the ball over four times on Sunday afternoon, including three fumbles that completely changed the game. The Eagles scored 28 points off of those four turnovers.
"I told the team for last seven weeks, really, we've lived in the complimentary football," said head coach Dan Quinn. "And it would be the turnover margin, and we didn't create any opportunities for us, and lost four and 28 points off of those four turnovers. That was big. We knew that was going to be a big part of this game. Both of us were plus six heading into today in the postseason, and for us, our season, it ended one game short."
Daniels finished with a very solid stat line, going 29-48 for 255 yards through the air, along with 48 yards on the ground and two total touchdowns. The most important element of the game, despite how things went around him, was how Daniels never flinched.
Even when the Commanders were down 48-23, Daniels calmly operated the offense, trying to will the Commanders back into the game. It didn't end up happening, but it was obvious that they belonged in the spot.
"We believe that we belong here," said Daniels after the game.
And he's right.
