Despite starting his NFL career as the second selection in the draft, Jayden Daniels’ first season will not be remembered for that.
Because Washington’s 24-year-old quarterback has experienced more firsts than most quarterbacks in league history.
Daniels set a new record for rookie quarterbacks with his 891 yards of rushing during the regular season.
Washington won its first postseason game since 2005 in his first postseason game. He also led the Commanders to their first conference title game since 1991 by defeating the NFC’s top seed in his second postseason game.
He leads all rookie quarterbacks in postseason completions with 46. Daniels will overtake Russell Wilson as the rookie with the most postseason passing yards with six more yards.
Daniels will undoubtedly win the league’s offensive rookie of the year award because of his accomplishments, but he still has the opportunity to make history on Sunday by going where no rookie quarterback has ever gone. Daniels would become the first rookie starting quarterback to make it to the Super Bowl with a victory in Sunday’s NFC title game in Philadelphia.
On his podcast, Eagles cornerback Darius Slay declared, “Given what he’s doing as a rookie, I will say he is the greatest rookie quarterback ever.”
Such a claim would be historically justified if Daniels won three playoff games, set a rookie record, and won his first Super Bowl.
However, it has essentially never been done before to even reach this far. Daniels is the sixth rookie quarterback to start in a conference championship, but the five previous quarterbacks—Shaun King of Tampa in 1999, Ben Roethlisberger of Pittsburgh in 2004, Joe Flacco of Baltimore in 2008, Mark Sanchez of the Jets in 2009, and Brock Purdy of San Francisco in 2022—all benefited from playing for a team that finished in the top three for scoring defense that season, according to NBC Sports Research.
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However, Daniels has not had nearly as much leeway because Washington’s defense has given up the 18th-most points this season.
Daniels, however, has not been deterred. After he got the ball with 19 seconds left in the fourth quarter, he led a comeback to defeat Chicago in Week 8. He defeated Atlanta in overtime with a touchdown pass in Week 17. Daniels was spotted grinning as he spoke to Lions defenders prior to a crucial third-down conversion late in the fourth quarter against the top-seeded Detroit Lions last week. Then he took down the first.
You guessed it: he was the only rookie in NFL history to record 12 touchdown passes in the fourth quarter or overtime during the regular season.
Washington coach Dan Quinn declared on Wednesday that he is the Terminator.
Quinn told reporters, “We’re here because of his unique in-the-moment abilities.” He has the experience of someone who has played a lot more football than a rookie, especially when it comes to mental pandemonium within the final two minutes and in these tight situations where it could feel that tight.
Growing up in Southern California and playing basketball also helped Daniels identify passing lanes and spacing on football grounds, he told reporters Wednesday. However, he added, there is another explanation for Daniels’ seeming insensitivity to pressure.
“I’m not really going out there and stressing about the moment,” Daniels told reporters on Wednesday, adding that football is just enjoyable for him and serves as a safe haven for him despite everything he has personally experienced in his life. because I get to do what I love at the end of the day.
In an interview with Washington sports radio station 106.7 The Fan on Wednesday, Joe Gibbs, who led Washington to three Super Bowl victories from 1982 to 1991, chuckled in what seemed to be shock.
Have you yet to witness him displaying any emotion? “Gibbs said.” This man is quite cool. Nothing frightens him.
Daniels can be just as evasive in news conferences as he is on the field. Daniels returned his attention to the present when asked Wednesday about the emotional significance of maybe becoming the first rookie quarterback to play in a Super Bowl.
He told reporters, “Dude, I’m not even thinking that far.” It would undoubtedly be a blessing, but my main focus is on improving myself every day.
The Eagles defense has been on edge because of the belief that Daniels could get better before Sunday. On a 57-yard drive that culminated in a Daniels touchdown pass with six seconds remaining, Washington overcame a 13-point deficit in the fourth quarter to win Week 16 in Philadelphia just a month ago.
Since 1986, Vic Fangio, the defensive coordinator for the Eagles, has been an NFL coach for almost every season. He stated that Daniels is most likely the best rookie quarterback he has ever seen while maintaining that viewpoint.
According to Fangio, he is a young quarterback by birth certificate. By the tape, no.