Washington moves up
The Washington Commanders had the spotlight on Monday Night Football last night, and QB Jayden Daniels took full advantage of the national attention. Washington was 1-1 going into Week 3, coming off a 21-18 win over the New York Giants that saw 7 field goals from new kicker Austin Seibert. The national power rankers weren’t impressed, and still had the Commanders very low. That changed after an upset win over the Cincinnati Bengals in primetime.
Washington is now 2-1, and they haven’t punted the ball in two weeks. FanDuel had the Over/Under for Washington’s team win total at 6 1⁄2 this year, which would have been an improvement from last season’s 4-13 record. Washington wasn’t expected to go from worst-to-first, but the quick progression of Jayden Daniels has a lot of people asking what the team can do if the defense improves. The rookie QB has the offense rolling, and he’s helping cover a lot of the weaker spots in the lineup. If Washington goes into Arizona, and gets another upset win, expect them to rise even further in the rankings as they start getting taken seriously at the national level.
High: 12
Low: 29
Average: 19.1
#12
Bleeding Green Nation(Gowton)
Jayden Daniels may very well be legit. He looks incredibly poised for a rookie. The Commanders haven’t punted since Week 1. They’re going to contend for the NFC East crown. Last week: 28
#14
Sports Illustrated(Orr)
Jayden Daniels has been meeting the moment for two straight weeks now. Above and beyond his rookie counterparts, he has put his team consistently in position to win games and is delivering clutch throws in those games to facilitate wins. While quarterbacks with more tools often find themselves further ahead earlier on in their rookie season, Daniels is blowing away the RGIII comparisons and creating his own very promising narrative in D.C. Last week: 26
#15
Pro Football Talk
It’s a good thing for Malik Nabers that they canceled the $10,000 OROY bet. Last week: 26
#16
NFL.com(Edholm)
Jayden Daniels was already among the league leaders in completion percentage at 75.5 percent, and that was before he completed 21 of 23 passes on Monday night in a stunningly good performance that fueled the Commanders’ road upset of the Bengals. Daniels was so cool and poised all night, leading six scoring drives (five TDs) in six tries, not counting kneeldowns. He sprayed the ball all over, including a few gorgeous deep shots, and was a terror with his legs, rushing for a touchdown and five first downs, frustrating the Bengals all night. Daniels now has completed 61 of 76 passes this season, good for a fiery 80.3 percent. The NFL record for a season is Drew Brees’ 74.4 percent in 2018, at 8.2 yards per attempt. It’s only three games, but Daniels is averaging 8.7 yards per attempt so far. Just a remarkable start in what certainly looks like an Offensive Rookie of the Year type of season early on. Oh, and the Commanders are suddenly pretty fun, too. Last week: 28
Sporting News(Iyer)
The Commanders have seen great flashes with Jayden Daniels and let him loose as a passer to match his running to awesome results in Cincinnati. They need to keep being more aggressive offensively because the defense needs that help every week. Last week: 26
The 33rd Team(Mosher)
What a performance by Jayden Daniels. In primetime, the Heisman trophy winner was the best player on the field. The Washington Commanders scored 38 points and scored on every single drive.
They have not punted since late in Week 1 and the offense is clicking under Kliff Kingsbury. The Commanders are finally fun again. Last week: 29
Sportsnaut(Johnson)
It’s amazing what a franchise-caliber quarterback can do for a team. The Washington Commanders took some of the handcuffs off this offense in Week 3 and Daniels delivered one of the best Monday Night Football performances we’ve seen in years. Thanks to the rookie quarterback, Washington’s offense has now scored on 14 consecutive drives, excluding kneel-downs. Washington’s defense is still abysmal and the offensive line is a work in progress, but this is the best the Commanders have looked in years. Last week: 30
#17
Yahoo Sports(Schwab)
Jayden Daniels completed 21 of 23 passes for a 91% completion percentage that is a new NFL record for a rookie QB. Daniels was nearly perfect in a massive road win over the Bengals. This suddenly feels a lot like Robert Griffin III as a rookie, doesn’t it? Last week: 27
CBS Sports(Prisco)
The Commanders have their quarterback for the long run. Jayden Daniels will be a star. We saw that in the victory over the Bengals on Monday night. Last week: 29
#18
The Athletic(Kendall)
Surprise: Just how good Jayden Daniels has been
Completion percentage is not the best indicator of quarterback success, but it’s still remarkable Washington’s rookie leads the NFL in that stat through three weeks (80.3 percent). Daniels, the No. 2 pick in the draft behind Caleb Williams, is second in the league in EPA per attempt (.43), which is a pretty good indicator of quarterback performance. On Monday night, Daniels was 21-for-23 for 254 yards and his first two NFL touchdown passes. Daniels, whose first scoring pass went to 320-pound offensive tackle Trent Scott, has yet to throw an interception. Last week: 29
USA Today(Davis)
Their “nice college offense,” per Cincy CB Cam Taylor-Britt, scored Washington’s most points (38) in four years as QB Jayden Daniels set a rookie record for completion percentage in a game (91.3%) in Monday’s victory. The Commanders haven’t punted since Week 1. If the season ended today – it doesn’t – they’d be in command of the NFC East. Last week: 27
Bleacher Report
In the leadup to Washington’s Monday night trip to Cincinnati, Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels told reporters that he was looking forward to playing under the lights for the first time in the NFL.
“I mean, it’s special, obviously,” Daniels said. “Be able to play one that’s early just coming off my first actual game, the first home opener, now first Monday night game. So, it’s gonna be special, but at the end of the day, it’s another game you’re just playing later on in the week.”
Daniels certainly appeared comfortable in the moment—and while one start does not a career make, we may have witnessed the coming-out party for one of the league’s next great young quarterbacks in the Queen City.
The Bengals had no answer whatsoever for Daniels and the Washington offense. Of Daniels’ 23 pass attempts, just two fell incomplete—a rookie record. Daniels threw for 254 yards and his first two NFL touchdowns and led the Commanders in rushing as well.
Do the Commanders still have issues? Yes. Will Washington make the playoffs in 2024? Probably not—a defense that has been a sieve dating back to last season surrendered 436 yards of offense against the Bengals. But Daniels was poised. Accurate. Athletic. He looked every bit the part of the franchise quarterback the Commanders have lacked since Kirk Cousins left town. It’s probably not going to hold, but Washington is tied for first place in the NFC East three games in. Not many folks expected that to be the case. Last week: 26
Fox Sports(Helman)
I can’t say for sure that this is sustainable, but how do you not give the Commanders a massive bump after what we saw Monday night? If Jayden Daniels is capable of even playing close to the level we saw in Cincinnati, this team has a completely different ceiling than most of us anticipated. They haven’t punted since Week 1! Last week: 28
WalterFootball
Last week, I wrote that Jayden Daniels’ 23-of-29 line was very impressive. Little did I know that he’d go 21-of-23 the following week! Daniels has been ridiculous thus far. If this continues, it’s crazy to think how good the Redskins will be once they upgrade their tackles, edge rushers, and cornerbacks. Last week: 28
New York Post(Dunleavy)
Last week: 28
#19
ESPN
Biggest issue on offense: Red zone scoring
Entering the Monday night game, Washington ranked 27th in red zone scoring — largely due to having to kick six field goals in Week 2 versus the Giants. Four penalties helped stall drives in that win, but overall execution must improve. The passing game hasn’t worked in the red zone (quarterback Jayden Daniels completed 1 of 5 red zone passes in the first two games), and the run game was tied for 16th, averaging 2.7 yards per carry. After Monday night’s win over the Bengals, the Commanders scored a touchdown on 100% of their red zone trips, showing much improvement. — John Keim Last week: 27
The Score
Jayden Daniels is coming off an incredible Week 3 performance in which he torched the Bengals for 293 yards and three touchdowns while completing 91% of his passes. But Washington’s defense is holding the team back, as opposing quarterbacks are consistently picking apart its secondary. Last week: 27
#20
Sharp Football Analysis
Last week: 27
#22
NFL Trade Rumors(Woodie)
Welcome to the NFL, Jayden Daniels. The rookie quarterback and No. 2 overall pick had more total touchdowns than incompletions in the Monday night win over Cincinnati, outdueling fellow LSU product Joe Burrow for the upset win. Daniels looked sharp, throwing accurate balls to all levels of the field, navigating the pocket and the open field comfortably, and asserting his command of the offense. The Commanders roster still needs a lot of work, but if Daniels keeps this up, the future is bright in Washington. Last week: 30
#24
Oddsshark
#25
The Ringer(Lee)
Cincinnati didn’t make it difficult for Daniels, but the rookie quarterback was finally able to produce some explosive passing opportunities and hung in the pocket better than he had in the first two weeks of the year. Daniels has clearly been the best of the rookie passers through the first three games, and at 2-1, I’m willing to enjoy the ride with Washington.
#26
The Lines
Jayden Daniels went 21-for-23 to set a record for completion percentage by a rookie in just his third start. The Heisman winner still hasn’t turned it over and Washington’s new era is underway.
#27
Team Rankings
#29
NumberFire