Daily Slop – 25 Sep 24: “Dazzles”, “incredible”, and “standout” are among the words used to describe Commanders’ latest performance

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Bullock’s Film Room (subscription)

Jayden Daniels dazzles as Commanders beat Bengals

Breaking down Jayden Daniels outstanding performance against the Bengals.

The two biggest criticisms of Daniels coming into this game were his eagerness to take off running when passes were still available to him and his failure to connect on some deep shots down the field. Against the Bengals, he proved he was capable of correcting those issues. The first thing that stood out to me with Daniels was his poise and patience. It’s true that in the first two games, he was a little too eager to work through his progressions and then take off running when he didn’t always need to. But last night, he was much more patient in the pocket, looking to exhaust every passing option before scrambling.

This play is a good example of that patience in the pocket. The Commanders run a stick concept to the right with a dagger-type of concept to the left. I’m not entirely sure if receiver Luke McCaffrey is asked to run a dig route like he would on a dagger concept, or if he’s just running a curl route, but we’ll get to that shortly. As Daniels snaps the ball, his eyes go first to the two deep safeties to check for any safety rotations. Bengals defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo is known for his mastery of disguising coverages with post-snap rotations, so Daniels is wise to locate both safeties as his top priority.

With the safeties located, Daniels can move onto his first read. He works to his right and checks the flat along with the stick route. He doesn’t like either option, so he works back over the middle of the field to Terry McLaurin on his deep over route. That’s not open either, so Daniels continues through his progression, getting all the way to McCaffrey on the back side. As I mentioned earlier, I’m not sure if this was a true dagger concept that called for McCaffrey to break into the middle of the field behind McLaurin’s route, but he saw a linebacker sinking into the hole and sat his route down, or if he was just running a curl route all the way. Either way, Daniels finds him in a hole in the coverage and completes the pass for a first down.

The protection holds up well here, allowing Daniels time in the pocket, but it has done the same at times in previous weeks and Daniels occasionally was guilty of hurrying through reads in order to take off running. Here you can see how he remains patient in the pocket, staying ready to throw at the top of his drop as he adjusts his feet to line up to each individual read. At no point is he considering scrambling, he’s only thinking about finding an open receiver and his patience is rewarded as he finds McCaffrey on the back side of the play.

The other big criticism of Daniels’ game so far this season was his lack of explosive plays in the passing game. He had missed a few deep shots to Terry McLaurin in the opening two games and even missed one in the first half when McLaurin was wide open breaking to the post on a scissors concept. But Daniels soon redeemed himself and finally found that deep ball to McLaurin we’ve all been waiting for.

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Washington Post (paywall)

Inside the incredible drive that sealed a Commanders upset win

Twelve plays, two penalties, 70 yards and plenty of chaos as Jayden Daniels and Washington put away the Bengals with a late touchdown.

During a late timeout in Monday night’s game, Washington Commanders wide receiver Terry McLaurin approached the quarterback and offensive coordinator with an idea. He pointed out — on third and seven, with the game on the line — that the Cincinnati Bengals probably would play close to the line of scrimmage to prevent a first down.

“I play on the left side a lot, and so I knew the right-side corner [Dax Hill] hadn’t seen me a lot,” McLaurin said. Based on film study and earlier plays, McLaurin believed he could beat Hill on a go route.

Kliff Kingsbury called the play, but when McLaurin lined up, Hill wasn’t playing close. He was actually about 10 yards away in “off” coverage, meaning it would be hard to beat him with a go route.

“I didn’t panic,” said McLaurin, who decided to run a double move. “I’m not going to lie: I’ve struggled a little bit [with] double moves, and I really worked on that this offseason. And for it to show up in that moment …” he shook his head.

McLaurin beat Hill, quarterback Jayden Daniels delivered a dime as he got rocked, and the improbable touchdown sealed the Commanders’ 38-33 upset of the Bengals.

6. Third and two, Cincinnati 49, 7:18 — Daniels passes short right to McLaurin for four yards.

Daniels used his legs to avoid a free rusher and hit the short pass for the first down. The play showed growth because, in previous weeks, Daniels had scrambled to run instead of keeping his eyes downfield.

Daniels was 5 for 5 for 43 yards on throws on the run, according to Next Gen Stats.

9. Second and 20, Washington 45, 5:56 — Daniels passes short right to Brown for eight yards.

The Commanders started having communication problems. The sideline was confused about who should be in because, after running back Austin Ekeler suffered a concussion, the team changed the personnel groupings of certain plays. The Commanders snapped each of the last six plays with six or fewer seconds left on the play clock.

This screen seemed destined for a short gain, but Brown juked, gained 10 yards after the catch and got walloped by a hit that made the crowd gasp.

After the game, a reporter approached his locker and Brown said, unprompted: “That s— ain’t hurt.”

14. Third and seven, Cincinnati 27, 2:15 — Daniels passes deep right to McLaurin for 27 yards and a touchdown.

At the very last second, as broadcaster Troy Aikman pointed out the Commanders had just 10 players on the field, rookie wide receiver Luke McCaffrey stepped on.

“I’ll be honest: I kind of got shoved on there,” he said afterward. “I was just making sure we had 11.”

McCaffrey ran over to Daniels, trying to figure out his assignment, and Daniels motioned for him just to line up. Did McCaffrey make up a route to run?

“Kind of,” he said, grinning.

In the locker room after the game, players gushed about Daniels’s composure, guts and accuracy. They relived the plays and talked about how a game such as this could transform a team. In one corner, Cosmi and right tackle Andrew Wylie walked through the chaos of the last play together.

“The guys were all confused. He put them in the right formation —” Cosmi said.

“— and snapped it with one second left and delivered a f—ing corner pylon toss,” Wylie continued. “I mean, it was f—ing nuts.”

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Commanders.com

Game balls | four standouts from Washington’s MNF win over Cincinnati

Javontae Jean-Baptiste

Washington’s defense has had its moments this season, but overall is still working to find its footing and flow to match the rolling Commanders offense through three games. Joe Whitt Jr. has emphasized the run-and-hit identity he is working to implement, underscoring the importance of players arriving violently.

With that in mind, there’s little doubt that rookie defensive end Javontae Jean-Baptiste got a pat on the back from Whitt & Co after one third-quarter play. With quarterback Joe Burrow looking to mount a comeback with his team down by 15, Jean-Baptiste beat Bengals first-round rookie tackle Amarius Mims and wrangled Burrow to the ground. The play was the first career sack for the Notre Dame seventh-rounder.

Trent Scott

McLaurin? Zach Ertz? Noah Brown? As guesses for who would catch Daniels’ first touchdown in the pros, those would all make sense.

Instead, the player who now holds that distinction is very much an unlikely suspect: offensive tackle Trent Scott. In the third quarter, the Commanders were up 21-13, and the offense had marched down to the Bengals’ one-yard line. Daniels dropped back and hit a wide-open Scott with a short one-yard pass to the left. Cue the celebrations and dances; it was clear the Commanders were having fun.

Scott’s TD reception was not only the first of his career, but it was the first offensive lineman touchdown for Washington since Joe Jacoby in 1984. And for what it’s worth, Washington is 5-0 when an offensive lineman catches a touchdown.

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Commanders Wire

Commanders’ rookie LT Brandon Coleman is trending upward

Coleman has yet to start in his three games, but he has seen action on 65 offensive snaps (34 percent), rotating with starter Cornelius Lucas.

“We continued to balance them up a little more, as we’re going to do, but we knew that was going to be one of the factors inside, to make sure (Trey) Hendrickson can’t ruin the game. I believe he got inside late, on one late (rush) where they got the sack and created the negative yards.”

“But by and large, I felt Brandon’s technique and energy, all the things when you are missing some time, start coming back into play. So, we’ve been impressed, and the arrow is definitely going up.”

Also of note, in these three games, Coleman has yet to be penalized. So, he is not getting beat early and is holding on to avoid his quarterback getting killed.

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Washington Post (paywall)

Jayden Daniels just announced himself to the NFL — and to Washington

Monday night’s victory in Cincinnati was stunning in its offensive efficiency and faith in the rookie quarterback.

Note this, and make it a discussion point about growing up: Daniels has thrown 76 NFL passes, has run the ball 38 times and has been sacked nine times (twice Monday). He has zero NFL turnovers. That’s not just because his coaches are protecting him. It’s because he’s a diligent and cognizant student.

That’s the statistical stuff. What happened Monday night were all the visceral elements that matter more. In his first two games, Daniels had either missed on deep looks or failed to acknowledge they were there at all, tucking and running. His best shot was an out-of-the-locker-room bomb to McLaurin to start the third quarter in the opener in Tampa. Daniels overthrew him. Through two weeks, McLaurin’s longest catch was 12 yards.

It was a small stat emblematic of a quarterback in development. And he handled it.

“The crazy thing about it: He’s a leader, because he tried to keep my head right,” said McLaurin, a six-year veteran. “I do a good job of staying focused, but he’s been telling me ever since the Tampa game when we missed: ‘I’m going to just keep coming back to you.’”

The NFL is nothing if not weird. The Bengals are supposed to be AFC contenders, and they’re 0-3. Carolina is historically inept — except it won a game. The week-to-week nature of the entire enterprise can be baffling and maddening. Ask anyone who entered a survivor pool.

But what happened Monday night is unquestionably a building block for a franchise in desperate need of a foundation. Through three games, Daniels has completed 80.3 percent of his passes. The Commanders scored on each of six possessions Monday that didn’t end with a kneel-down — and 13 straight over two weeks. They’re 2-1.

Monday night doesn’t make a career. But Monday night may well have kick-started one. The current Commanders aren’t built to win, but they have a winner to build around. If that’s hype, it’s for a player who has lived up to it before — and is doing so again.

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ESPN

Quinn doesn’t want Commanders’ past at QB to weigh on Daniels

“I definitely understand our fan base has been waiting for the franchise QB, but I also don’t want Jayden feeling any ghosts,” Quinn said, “making sure he understands there’s only one name on the back of that jersey and that’s for him.”

“I don’t want to compare him to anybody but him because he’s still growing,” Quinn said Tuesday, “and quite honestly, I can’t wait to see who he’s becoming. He had a remarkable game, and I was really, really proud of him.”

After the Commanders drafted Daniels, he said he didn’t feel any pressure because of Washington’s struggles at the position. This is the seventh consecutive campaign the Commanders have started a new quarterback to open the season. They started 10 in the past five years overall. And no quarterback has been the primary starter for more than three consecutive years since Mark Rypien from 1989 to 1994.

“He has that way about him that he creates energy and belief in others as well,” Quinn said. “We don’t want him having and feeling there’s any ghosts. We wanted to make sure that was clear. We know how important the position is here to him, to the organization, but we also wanted to make sure you do it in your own way. And we’ve really seen that.”

Austin Ekeler update

Meanwhile, running back Austin Ekeler did not accompany the team to Phoenix in preparation for Sunday’s game against the Cardinals. He suffered a concussion in the third quarter Monday night and returned instead to Virginia where the team trains. Ekeler also suffered a laceration in his ear.

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Washington Wire

Commanders PFF grades: Jayden Daniels sets the bar high

It was almost a tale of two teams for the Washington Commanders in their 38-33 win over the Cincinnati Bengals on Monday Night Football. The offense could not be stopped, as Washington scored on all six offensive possessions, excluding kneel-downs.

Meanwhile, the Commanders defense was the polar opposite. Washington’s secondary continued to struggle and had no answers for Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase. Fortunately for the Commanders, their defense made more stops than Cincinnati’s defense, which proved to be the difference in the game.

Daniels needed to play an almost perfect game for Washington to win Monday night’s game. That’s what he did. Pro Football Focus revealed its grades for Week 3, which was a good week for several commanders, including Daniels. He earned not only the highest single-game grade for a quarterback in Washington’s history but also the highest grade for any NFL quarterback this season.

Top 5 offense

• QB Jayden Daniels: 95.9
• RB Austin Ekeler: 84.0
• WR Terry McLaurin: 83.1
• WR Luke McCaffrey: 82.0
• RT Andrew Wylie: 78.2

Top 5 defense

• LB Bobby Wagner: 71.1
• S Quan Martin: 67.4
• DE Dorance Armstrong: 66.8
• CB Mike Sainristil: 63.4
• EDGE Dante Fowler: 63.1

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Washington Post (paywall)

Jayden Daniels tracker: An electric performance on ‘Monday Night Football’

We’re tracking Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels through stats, stories and quotes during his anticipated rookie season.

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Upcoming opponent

Revenge of the Birds

Cardinals’ secondary coverage issues versus Jared Goff and the Lions

When will the Cardinals’ incompetence and lack of effort in pass coverage ever change?

One of the best barometers for assessing the quality of a team’s coverage is by charting the number of times the secondary gets one hand or two on the football.

Alas, the Cardinals’ woeful pass coverage in the secondary throughout the pre-season has carried over into the regular season in a rather egregious fashion.

After 3 games, the Cardinals’ DBs have 0 INTs and only 2 PBUs combined.

In last week’s game versus the Jared Goff and the Lions, Goff completed 10 passes on 11 targets versus the Cardinals DBs, who surrendered 2 TDs and get this —- finished the game with 0 INTs and 0 PBUs.

Jared Goff’s Passer ratings this year:

• LAR — 85.0
• TB —- 61.7
• ARI —- 113.6

For the second time in three games this season, the Cardinals’ defense versus the Lions gave up 3 TDs during a 4 possession stretch —- as they did in Buffalo when the Bills erased the Cardinals 17-3 lead.

After 3 games, the Cardinals’ pass coverage grade is a 47.4 which is 30th in the NFL.

And by the eye test the Cardinals’ pass coverage is about as passive, undisciplined and lethargic as it gets.

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Sports Illustrated

Commanders LB Praises Cardinals’ Kyler Murray

The Washington Commanders face off against the Arizona Cardinals in Week 4.

[Bobby] Wagner has spent his entire career in the NFC West, so he has played Murray and the Cardinals twice per year throughout his life in the NFL. Now, he gets another chance to face them as a member of the Commanders.

Murray, 27, is off to a strong start with the Cardinals this season. He has completed 68.6 percent of his passes for 635 yards, five touchdowns and one interception. He’s done a good job at taking care of the football, and he’ll have his eyes wide open facing the Commanders defense, which has allowed the fourth-most points in the NFL so far this season.

Only the Dallas Cowboys, Los Angeles Rams and Carolina Panthers have given up more points, so the Commanders need to bring their A game when facing Murray and the Cardinals.

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Podcasts & videos

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Jayden Daniels Looks Like Rookie of the Year | PFF

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The John Riggins Show 09.20.24

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NFC East links

Blogging the Boys

After further review: Cowboys run defense remains atrocious, offense not helping Dak

Last week was tough.

The Dallas Cowboys went out on Sunday and laid another egg in a 28-25 loss to the Baltimore Ravens. While the final score shows a three-point game, this game was a hot mess from the onset and stayed that way through three quarters. The Cowboys offense finally got going late and the defense also made some stops to keep them in it, but eventually, they ran out of time and couldn’t complete the epic comeback.

Since we spent most of this game in agony, we’re not going to let them slide and act like they don’t have some big problems. It was a poor display on both sides of the ball and today, we’ll try to figure out what we can learn after further review.

DEFENSE

Once again, the defense was the main story as they continued to show no ability to stop the opposing offense. The Cowboys allowed 294 rushing yards, which is the most they’ve allowed in four years, and that says a lot as they’ve given up some doozies in recent years. It was bad in every aspect. The Ravens did a great job with the run designs, providing more blockers than the Cowboys had defenders, but there was still so much of this that was self-inflicted.

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Big Blue View

5 Giants-Cowboys questions: ‘The Giants could absolutely win this game’

Dave Halprin of Blogging The Boys answers our questions

Ed: A 1-2 start with Dallas losing back-to-back games at home and playing poorly on defense? What is going on?

David: On defense, we have a few issues that are coming together to create a very poor unit. First was a change in coordinators from Dan Quinn, who preferred a lighter, faster defense that was very aggressive in going after the quarterback. Mike Zimmer’s scheme wants bigger players that make the run defense a priority, with disguised blitzes and coverage to confuse the offense. It doesn’t appear the Cowboys have mastered it yet. There is also a major issue with the defensive tackles who are regularly getting blown off the line of scrimmage opening huge holes in the middle of the line. This also creates a lot of traffic for the linebackers to negotiate on run plays, leaving the middle of the defense vulnerable. We also have some ‘hero ball’ going on. For example, defensive ends are crashing in toward the middle on read-options and other plays instead of playing their assignment, leaving the edges completely open. Add that all up and you have a run defense that has totally collapsed.

There are other elements of the Cowboys’ game that need improvement, better play from the offensive line, better play from the WR group. But nothing really matters until they get the run defense fixed. Both the Saints and the Ravens spent most of their time just running the ball and grinding the life out of the Cowboys.

Ed: The Cowboys have won six straight and 13 of 14 games against the Giants. Does this feel like a week where the Giants might be able to reverse that trend?

David: It does feel like that. Recently we always felt that the game against the Giants was a gimme twice a year. And the record, as you state in the question, confirmed that. But there is nothing guaranteed about this year’s Cowboys team. It is entirely possible they will go to New York and lay a big egg. I still think the Cowboys have the edge in overall talent along the roster, but with the way they have been playing the last two weeks, nothing is certain. The Giants could absolutely win this game, especially if they can take advantage of the Cowboys run defense.

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NFL league links

Articles

Washington Post (paywall)

As Jayden Daniels thrives, did the Bears err by taking Caleb Williams?

The Chicago Bears’ choice of Caleb Williams over Jayden Daniels could face scrutiny as the NFL season progresses.

Williams, the former Heisman winner from USC, has the talent and promise that prompted comparisons with Patrick Mahomes, and the Bears put playmaking skill around him on offense with tailback D’Andre Swift, tight end Cole Kmet and wide receivers DJ Moore, Keenan Allen and fellow prized rookie Rome Odunze. There even were some preseason prognostications about Williams being in the MVP conversation as a rookie.

His play has been uneven so far. He threw for 363 yards and two touchdowns in Sunday’s 21-16 defeat at Indianapolis. But he also threw two interceptions. He has two touchdown passes and four interceptions on the season. The Bears perhaps did him no favors with their play-calling Sunday, having Williams throw the ball 52 times, and Allen has missed the past two games with a heel injury.

A record-tying six quarterbacks were chosen in the opening round of this year’s draft, all within the first 12 selections. Williams, Daniels and Denver’s Bo Nix opened the season as starters, while New England’s Drake Maye waits his turn, Atlanta’s Michael Penix Jr. backs up Kirk Cousins, and Minnesota’s J.J. McCarthy heals from season-ending knee surgery. Nix, like Williams, is experiencing the typical rookie-quarterback issues. He is the NFL’s 29th-rated passer, one spot behind Williams.

So far, at least, only Daniels is playing like a star.

And also …

The return rate under the NFL’s new kickoff format remains an early-season issue. It’s 30 percent through Week 3. That’s up from 16 percent last season through Week 3 (and 22 percent over the full 2023 season) but still far shy of the original projections. …

The enforcement of the NFL’s new prohibition on hip-drop tackles has gone about as expected, with an emphasis on fines assessed during the week more than on penalty flags during games. The league fined four players last week for hip-drop tackles during the Week 2 games. …

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Pro Football Focus

Grading all 32 first-round picks ahead of Week 4 of the 2024 NFL season

Pick No. 1: Chicago Bears: QB Caleb Williams

• Overall Rookie Grade: 48.3 (Rank: 3/3)
• Principal Opponent: N/A
• Week 3 Snaps: 90
• Week 3 Grade: 57.4

Williams had a turbulent day in Indianapolis during which he dropped back 56 times. His accuracy and decision-making improved, though he still threw two interceptions. His primary issue is his play under pressure. Williams was pressured 13 times and completed just four of his nine passes en route to a 37.5 PFF passing grade. Overall, though, this was Williams’ best start so far. He just needs further support from the rest of the Bears’ offense.

Pick No. 2: Washington Commanders: QB Jayden Daniels

• Overall Rookie Grade: 78.4 (Rank: 1/3)
• Principal Opponent: N/A
• Week 3 Snaps: 58
• Week 3 Grade: 95.9

Daniels looked like a star on Monday Night Football against the Cincinnati Bengals. His 95.9 PFF overall grade is the highest game grade for a rookie quarterback since Russell Wilson put up a 96.0 mark in Week 16 of 2012. Only Matt Ryan’s Week 6 effort in 2008 was better than Wilson and Daniels among first-year signal-callers in the PFF era.

Daniels made two big-time throws — and several other impressive ones — while completing 91.3% of his passing attempts in the Commanders’ 38-33 win.

Pick No. 3: New England Patriots: QB Drake Maye

• Overall Rookie Grade: 63.0 (Rank: N/A)
• Principal Opponent: N/A
• Week 3 Snaps: 16
• Week 3 Grade: 63.0

Maye made his NFL debut in relief of Jacoby Brissett during New England’s blowout loss to the New York Jets. He completed four of his eight passes, including a nice throw over the middle that got the Patriots into the red zone. Unfortunately, Maye couldn’t finish the drive with a score, as he was pressured on five of his 12 dropbacks and sacked twice. His short debut was a representation of the Patriots’ fears of putting the rookie behind their current offensive line for an entire game.

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