On Saturday, January 18th Jayden Daniels, the rookie quarterback for the Washington Commanders, led the team to victory against the team that was thought to be the best team in the NFL, the Detroit Lions. The game was a historic event for the Commanders, as it was the first divisional round victory since 1992 during an incredible Commanders (formerly the Redskins) season which ultimately ended with a Super Bowl triumph against the Buffalo Bills. Not only has the team not won in the divisional round since 1992, but they hadn’t won a single playoff game since 2005! Just last year the Commanders had a horrendous record of 4 – 13, but with the way Jayden Daniels has performed, the team is now going 12 – 5, and they’re on the road to glory.
Daniels’ final year performance at LSU was absolutely electric, boasting nearly 4,000 passing yards, over 1,300 rushing yards, and an insane ratio of 40 passing touchdowns to 4 interceptions! To put this into perspective, during the 2024-25 season Patrick Mahomes who is considered to be by many as the best QB in the league, and arguably of all time threw just 26 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. With such fantastic stats he was bound to win the Heisman trophy, awarded to the best player in college football. Though he put up such great stats and won the Heisman, he still went number 2 in the 2024 NFL draft to the Washington Commanders, just behind LSU quarterback Caleb Williams who would ultimately enter the league as a bust with the Chicago Bears.
Due to the 4 – 13 record in the previous season, fans had little hope for their team. Losing 3/4 of their preseason games only added to the despair, but as soon as week 3 arrived, the Commanders knew they drafted someone special. Clashing head to head with the Cincinnati Bengals, Daniels threw for over 250 yards, 2 passing touchdowns, and threw no interceptions, all while rushing for nearly 100 yards and beating the highly anticipated Bengals. It was early in the season yet he was already shining like an elite player.
From weeks 2 – 9, Daniels led a victorious campaign through the NFC going 7 – 1, with the rookie putting up at least 230 yards per game, only losing to the Baltimore Ravens, one of the best teams in the league. The Commanders would lose their next 3 games, then wipe the rest of their schedule with ease, even beating the Philadelphia Eagles who they’d previously lost to.
Sitting at the 6 seed spot in the playoffs, the Commanders had to face the 3 seed, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Baker Mayfield had recently emerged as the franchise QB of the team and had by far his best season ever, throwing for nearly 5,000 yards. Facing adversity, Daniels still had a fantastic game throwing for 268 yards and 2 TDs, more than his regular season average. This game allowed Daniels to showcase his ability under pressure, and not only were fans surprised, but they were amazed.
Passing the first round of the playoffs and winning their first game since 2005, the Commanders were met with a lethal matchup against the team many believed to be the best in the league. It was practically a guaranteed loss according to both analysts and fans. Instead of taking these doubts personally, he showed everyone what he was capable of. He went on to throw 299 yards, and 2 touchdowns. Yards aren’t all that’s important. Though Daniels threw for nearly 300 yards, he didn’t turn over the ball a single time, and not only was he able to match his abilities against the Buccaneers, but he surpassed them! The Commanders would ultimately beat the Lions 45 – 31, with a lead of 2 touchdowns. No one saw this coming and now that we’ve seen the potential of the Commanders, I’m sure that they have the capabilities to beat the Eagles and not only go to, but win the SuperBowl.
Flipping his franchise from 4 – 13 to 12 – 5 and playing like an elite, NFL experienced QB, Daniels has shattered everyone’s expectations and has been deemed by many as the best rookie quarterback of all time. What do you think? Is he truly the best rookie of all time?
