Daily Slop – 24 Sep 24: The Jayden Daniels coming out party happened on MNF; new-found connection with Terry McLaurin

A collection of articles, podcasts & tweets from around the web to keep you in touch with the Commanders, the NFC East and the NFL in general

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Articles

Washington Post (paywall)

Jayden Daniels wows in prime-time debut and Commanders shock Bengals

The rookie QB outplays Joe Burrow in a thrilling 38-33 win on the road on “Monday Night Football.”

Jayden Daniels had the protection, so he cut it loose, sending a deep pass down the sideline for a wide receiver who had eluded him for weeks. What followed was a sight that had eluded Washington: wideout Terry McLaurin pumping his fists after splitting a pair of defenders to catch a 55-yard dime.

McLaurin spun around cornerback Cam Taylor-Britt — remember when Taylor-Britt said Washington had a “nice college offense?” — then blew past safety Geno Stone to catch and the over-the-shoulder pass from Daniels, who moments later capped the drive with a four-yard touchdown run Monday night at Paycor Stadium.

At the time, the second-quarter play felt like a massive momentum shift for Washington. For Daniels and McLaurin, however, it was just the appetizer.

With a little more than two minutes left in the fourth quarter, in the maw of a Bengals blitz, Daniels lofted another dime on another go route down the sideline and found McLaurin for a touchdown that all but iced a 38-33 win over a team viewed as an AFC Super Bowl contender.

For the first time in more than a decade, Washington appears to have finally, finally, found its guy. The quarterback carousel that has spun year after year came to a halt.

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The Athletic (paywall)

Jayden Daniels has near-flawless performance in prime-time debut: ‘He’s special’

The 23-year-old, in his third game, set a rookie record for single-game completion percentage (91.3), led Washington to scores on all six of its drives (not including kneeldowns) and kept the team’s turnover number at zero.

Daniels and the offense had minimal gaffes. He appropriately credited his offensive line for solid protection. Running backs Austin Ekeler and Brian Robinson Jr. each found the end zone. Opening the second half, Ekeler popped a 62-yard kick return, leading to Scott’s score. That Ekeler left the game with a concussion was one of the few down notes, along with the defensive struggles.

Three plays after the Ertz catch — with the Bengals showing a Cover zero scheme — the duo connected for a pass that, according to NFL’s Next Gen Stats, was the most improbable completion of the season.

“I’m not sure I’ve seen something like that,” said 13-year veteran linebacker Bobby Wagner.

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The Athletic (paywall)

Jayden Daniels, out of central casting, looks like a leading man for the Commanders

Wait. Stop.

Do you understand how ridiculous this throw is?

It’s third-and-7 from the Bengals’ 27 with 2:15 remaining. Washington leads 31-26. If Cincinnati gets a stop, it could force overtime even if Washington kicks a field goal with a touchdown and 2-point conversion. Because, you see, the Bengals have their own franchise QB in Burrow, who’s pretty damn clutch and shredded Washington’s defense all night. (We will, sometime soon, talk about the Commanders defense, which is, uh, not good right now.)

So the Bengals brought the house, sending seven men in a Cover 0 blitz look before dropping two into coverage.

With the offensive line occupied with everything happening, Bengals safety Geno Stone got a free release off the line. In six quick, chopping steps, he was in Daniels’ face. Stone checks in at 210 pounds. When he hits you, he packs a wallop.

And he walloped Daniels.

When he did, Daniels was into his throwing motion. He was at the Bengals’ 37-yard line, with a 210-pound man in pads lowering the boom on him. And yet, the ball got out. Not only did it get out, but it also got downfield — way downfield. About 45 yards downfield. By the time it came down, McLaurin was 7 yards deep in the end zone, with cornerback Dax Hill diving at his waist. The ball and McLaurin and Hill all came together with about 2 yards of end zone to spare. McLaurin, channeling his inner John Madden, got a foot and a knee down in the absolute corner of the end zone for the game-clinching score.

This was … different.

This was, “I’m going to throw you open. I don’t care how tight the coverage is. I’ve got that in my bag.”

“He’s been telling me since the Tampa game, when we missed it, ‘I’m going to keep coming back to you. I’m gonna keep coming back to you. Stay ready,’” McLaurin said. “And to have that kind of confidence from your quarterback, that means a lot to me

Washington had six possessions that were not at the end of the first half or the game Monday. The Commanders scored five touchdowns and one field goal on their drives. The Commanders drove 70, 62, 75, 33, 46 (the field goal) and 70 yards for their six scores. Dan Quinn was aggressive every chance he got; offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury kept his players in front of the sticks all game long.

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Commanders.com

Instant analysis | Jayden Daniels sets rookie record in MNF win over Bengals

It took until the third quarter of Jayden Daniels’ third NFL game for him to get his first passing touchdown, and it might end up being one of the most interesting bits of trivia about the quarterback’s career.

The player wasn’t one of Daniels’ usual pass-catchers but rather offensive tackle Trent Scott, who made the one-yard score and danced in the end zone with his fellow offensive linemen around him. It was an unexpected play by the Commanders in a critical moment, just like the team’s 38-33 win over the Bengals in front of a packed road crowd.

Daniels, who helped Washington (2-1) secure its first Week 3 win since 2018, was the star of the night competing against the Bengals and Joe Burrow — a player he was often compared to during his two-year stint at LSU. Daniels outplayed his fellow Heisman Trophy winner, setting a single-game rookie record with a completion rate of 91.3% to go with 293 total yards and three touchdowns.

Even more impressive were the three fourth-down conversions Washington pulled out over the course of the evening. The offense gained 43 yards on those three plays, most of which came from a 30-yard catch-and-run by Luke McCaffrey, and all three indirectly led to points.

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ESPN

Rookie Jayden Daniels leads Commanders past Bengals on MNF

Washington (2-1) has won two straight — and scored on 14 consecutive drives that didn’t end in a kneel down — heading into Sunday’s game at Arizona. The Commanders have received an early-season jolt because of Daniels’ play. In three games, he has completed 80.3% of his passes, averaging 6.2 air yards per attempt. He has thrown for 662 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions.

Daniels led a winning field goal drive in Week 2 and threw a touchdown pass on his final full possession Monday night. Players have not been shy in their praise of Daniels since they started practicing with him in the spring.

Their confidence in him has only increased.

“The only word I can really say is hope,” guard Sam Cosmi said when asked what’s different about Daniels compared to those he played with in the previous four seasons. “I believe. We believe.”

Daniels wasn’t fazed when the play clock was winding down, motioning to the sideline to get the play call in. The way he handled that situation without panicking resonated with teammates.

“It’s shocking how composed he is, but it’s not,” Washington guard Nick Allegretti said. “It’s just the situation is what it is. What am I going to do? Panic and ruin it. He’s not like that. He’s just situation is what it is. Get 11 in a huddle. Let’s call a play.

Daniels was asked to convert three fourth downs: two with his arm and one with his legs. He succeeded each time. A fourth-and-2 pass to rookie receiver Luke McCaffrey gained 30 yards to set up the Commanders’ first touchdown. A fourth-and-1 run early in the fourth quarter led to a field goal.

But the coup de grace was a fourth-and-4 pass from the Bengals’ 39-yard line to tight end Zach Ertz with 4 minutes, 26 seconds left in the game and Washington leading by only five. It went for 9 yards.

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Commanders Wire

Terry McLaurin is back as Commanders beat Bengals

Through two games, McLaurin had 8 receptions for only 39 yards and no touchdowns.

But in this Week 3 contest in Cincinnati against the Bengals, McLaurin not only led the Commanders in receiving yards but also reached the 100 yard mark and scored the clinching touchdown in the fourth quarter. On his night, he was targeted six times and came away with four receptions for an even 100 yards [and the two incompletions were uncatchable].

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ESPN

NFL Week 3: Biggest questions, takeaways for every game

Washington 38, Cincinnati 33

Commanders

How good is this offense? With Jayden Daniels, the Commanders can finally feel good about the quarterback position. But Washington also has shown it has weapons at running back (Brian Robinson and Austin Ekeler) and at wide receiver (Terry McLaurin, four catches for 100 yards). It’s a new group led by a new coordinator in Kliff Kingsbury, but Washington now has finished 14 consecutive full drives with points. Punter Tress Way has not seen action since the penultimate drive of the season opener.

Describe the game in two words: Holy cow. Washington wanted to establish an identity under new coach Dan Quinn, and it has started to do so three games in by showing toughness and an explosive offense. But winning on the road with a rookie quarterback — who played like a veteran — was impressive. The Commanders’ offense looks like it will be difficult to contain this season.

Most surprising performance: Washington’s red zone offense struggled in Week 2 against the New York Giants, settling for six field goals of 33 yards or shorter in a win. On Monday, the Commanders converted all three red zone drives into touchdowns. Washington’s offense used a combination of running and some trickery, with one scoring pass going to tackle eligible Trent Scott. — John Keim

Next game: at Cardinals (Sunday, 4:05 p.m. ET)

Bengals

Are the Bengals in serious trouble? Yes. Since the NFL went to a 17-game format, no team has made the playoffs after an 0-3 start. The last time it happened was in 2018 (Houston Texans). Cincinnati has one of the easier schedules in the league, which is the only solace for a Bengals team that suffered another stunning upset loss after falling at home to New England in Week 1. But things must be turned around immediately.

Early prediction for next week: Ja’Marr Chase will get more double-teams. When Chase was in single coverage versus Washington, Joe Burrow made sure to throw the ball in his direction. Chase not only created separation but also reeled in two touchdowns on deep passes (41 yards, 31 yards). Chase had his first 100-yard game since Week 13 of last season — which also took place on a Monday night.

Eye-popping stat: The Commanders had 62 yards and a touchdown on their first 10 carries on zone-read plays. The Bengals entered Monday without their top two defensive tackles, Sheldon Rankins (hamstring) and B.J. Hill (hamstring). With those absences on the line of scrimmage, Cincinnati struggled to contain a Commanders rushing attack led by Robinson and Daniels. — Ben Baby

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ESPN

Jayden Daniels, Commanders make statement in win over Bengals

Biggest hole in the game plan: Defending receiver Ja’Marr Chase. The Bengals wide receiver is one of the most dangerous skill players in the NFL. He scored touchdowns on catches of 41 and 31 yards when the Commanders opted for single-high coverage, leaving corners Mike Sainristil and Benjamin St-Juste with no help on Chase’s respective touchdowns.

Pivotal play: Washington converted a fourth-and-4 with 4 minutes, 25 seconds left in the game from the Bengals’ 38-yard line. The Commanders could have attempted a 56-yard field goal or punted and played defense. Instead, they opted to go for it, and Daniels completed a 9-yard pass to tight end Zach Ertz. Three plays later, Daniels clinched it with a touchdown pass to McLaurin.

Troubling trend: Defending the run. Washington entered Monday night ranked 29th vs. the run, allowing 5.1 yards per carry. But the Commanders allowed 6.2 yards per carry Monday night. They’ve used a lot of two-deep safety looks, keeping an extra defender out of the box, but they must play better along the front.

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NFL.com

2024 NFL Season, Week 3: What We Learned from Monday doubleheader

Football world, meet Jayden Daniels. When we look back on Jayden Daniels’ career years from now, we’ll remember this night. Daniels put together a phenomenal performance, completing 21 of 23 passes (91%, the best in a single game by a rookie in NFL history) for 254 yards and two touchdowns, including his first career passing score, which was also the first thrown by a top-five pick to an offensive lineman in NFL history. He provided a sizeable threat in the running game, too, using his legs to keep drives alive on multiple occasions and finishing as Washington’s rushing leader with 39 yards and a touchdown on 12 attempts. He commanded the offense and the night for the Commanders, handling the moment with a maturity level that is rare to see from a rookie. His best moment came last, when he stood in the pocket and knew he was going to get clobbered, and launched a rainbow strike to Terry McLaurin anyway, hooking up with his best receiver for a decisive 27-yard touchdown. Washington hasn’t attracted a ton of eyeballs nationally, so folks might have missed Daniels’ encouraging start to his career, but make no mistake, Daniels has looked the part since his first preseason snaps. The rookie — who arrived to the NFL with plenty of collegiate experience earned at Arizona State and LSU — has delivered repeatedly, none more than on Monday night.

Washington went perfect in terms of drive conclusions, starting the game with three straight touchdown drives, adding a fourth after the half, tacking on a field goal and plunging a dagger into the hearts of the entire city of Cincinnati with an emphatic final score. In between, Cincinnati allowed Washington to convert five of nine third-down attempts, all three fourth-down attempts, and finish a perfect 3-for-3 in the red zone. The Bengals pressured Daniels just seven times (21.9%), sacked him twice and allowed an average target separation of 4.1 yards. It felt as if the Bengals defense only had one truly positive moment — a Trey Hendrickson sack early in Washington’s dagger-plunging final touchdown drive — all night, and even that wasn’t enough. They aren’t getting home, and they’re not covering well enough, either, to get the job done. Lou Anarumo is a rightfully respected defensive coordinator, but he clearly has his work cut out for him after losing three games in different fashions. This one hurts the most.

McLaurin establishes connection with rookie QB. After two weeks, much of the conversation regarding Washington’s offense was Terry McLaurin’s apparent absence from the game plan. Through two games, he’d caught just eight passes for 39 yards, seemingly excluding Daniels’ most important weapon. That changed Monday night, because McLaurin and Daniels finally connected for some huge plays, starting with a 55-yard strike to set up a 4-yard Daniels rushing score, which came only after Daniels missed an open McLaurin for what would have been a touchdown. The biggest play of the night came in the most important moment, with Daniels facing a third down and a likely Bengals blitz. His touchdown pass to McLaurin was fitting, capping a fantastic breakout showing for the pairing, and whetting the appetites of Commanders fans everywhere, who go to bed Monday night dreaming of what might be next.

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Pro Football Talk

Commanders RB Austin Ekeler out with concussion

Commanders running back Austin Ekeler was injured in the second half Monday night.

Washington…ruled him out with a concussion.

He finished his night with two catches for 22 yards and three carries for 35 yards and a touchdown.

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Upcoming opponent

Revenge of the Birds

Arizona Cardinals need to find their consistency in the run game once again

The Cardinals strength last season is not showing up early in the 2024 season.

Through three games, their bulk numbers look fine, but the reality is that what was one of the most efficient run games in the NFL when Kyler Murray came back, has become one of the least efficient through three games.

First off, a brief explainer of EPA from the 33rd Team:

What is Expected Points Added?

Expected Points Added, commonly referred to as EPA, is a measure of how well a team performs relative to expectation. For example, if a team starts a drive on the 50-yard line, its expected points to start the drive would be about 2.5. If the team ends the drive with a field goal, thus gaining 3 points, its EPA for that drive would be found by subtracting its expected points from how many points it actually gained, 3 – 2.5 or 0.5 EPA.

The Cardinals just are not getting much from their run game, and that stood out yesterday, as James Conner, Trey Benson and Emari Demercado combined for 32 yards on 13 carries. In fact, both Detroit Lions running backs rushed for for more yards than the entire Cardinals team combined: 105 for David Montgomery and 83 fof Jamhyr Gibbs, compared to 77 for the Cardinals.

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Podcasts & videos

Monday Night Football + Jayden Daniels = Cheat Code? | Booth Review | Washington Commanders | NFL

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Washington Commanders Upset Cincinnati Bengals 38-33 on Monday Night Football

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Beltway Football

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Photos

Commanders.com

PHOTOS | Commanders vs. Bengals, Week 3

Check out the top photos of the Washington Commanders during their Week 3 matchup with the Cincinnati Bengals, presented by Sony. (Photos by Emilee Fails/Washington Commanders)

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NFC East links

Washington Post (paywall)

The feeble Cowboys already have the makings of a disastrous season

The Dallas Cowboys ‘can’t run the football and they can’t stop the run.’ It could be their undoing.

The Cowboys have now lost three in row [at home] dating from January’s playoff failure against Green Bay. They have allowed at least 28 points in each of those losses, trailed by at least 22 in each of those losses and allowed a whopping 120 total points in that stretch. The Packers, New Orleans Saints and Ravens have run 117 times for 607 yards in those three games — 5.2 yards per carry — amassing an almost inconceivable 10 rushing touchdowns.

“Dallas is incredibly porous in run defense,” analyst Brian Baldinger said. “The strength of their defense is their speed, and going back to Jim Brown … the way to combat speed is to run right at them. And they got pulverized by the Saints’ run game and they got pulverized by Green Bay in a playoff game. And you can put it on Zimmer … and you can put it on Dan Quinn, but it comes down to talent deficiencies that they have at the point of attack and how they play defense. If you want to stop Micah Parsons from ruining your day, just run right at him.”

If advanced analytics are more your thing, the website TruMedia shows Dallas with a minus-17.31 EPA in rush defense, nearly three times worse than the 31st-ranked team (the Los Angeles Rams at minus-6.74). The Cowboys also rank dead last in rush defense success rate (47.9 percent) and percentage of rushes that have gone for a first down (35 percent; the NFL average is 25 percent). That’s quite a triple crown.

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Blogging the Boys

Cowboys vs Ravens day after thoughts: Our worst fears are being realized

The Cowboys are watching their season slip away from them.

Foregoing free agency, scoffing at the idea that it could be used to help the team, drafting completely for need, ignoring addressing the running back position in a serious way, delaying superstar and market-setting extensions until the last possible minute – it is not hyperbolic to say that everything we have seen from this team since the playoff loss has been done in about the most toxic way possible.

Name the thing they did that efficiently improved their overall operation. Seriously. we’ll take any answer.

This was all assembled in such chaotic fashion that seeing it wobble and wiggle before the first month of the season is not surprising in the least bit. Our fears that the run game would not be enough, that there were no viable pass-catching threats outside of CeeDee Lamb, that defensively this team did not have enough beef to stop the run and that relying on rookies in critical spots could prove costly are all manifesting themselves.

It did not have to be this way.

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Bleeding Green Nation

Report: Britain Covey suffered broken bone in his shoulder

The Eagles’ top punt returner and rotational wide receiver could be headed to injured reserve.

Britain Covey suffered a broken bone in his shoulder and expects to miss at least six weeks. This much according to Merrill Reese, who said he heard directly from Covey, while speaking on KYW Newsradio (hat tip to Rob Tornoe).

Indeed, Covey was seen wearing a sling around his left arm after the game.

One would figure the Eagles will place Covey on injured reserve, which would require him to miss at least four games. The Eagles also have a bye in Week 5, so, perhaps he might only have to miss five games over the next six weeks.

Covey’s injury comes at an especially bad time for the Eagles with A.J. Brown (hamstring) and DeVonta Smith (concussion) also banged up. It’s unclear if either of the team’s top two receivers will be able to play against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 4.

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