Jayden Daniels and the Washington Commanders put on yet another spectacular offensive show in Week 4 against the Arizona Cardinals, which helped the squad to a dominant 3-1 start to the season. Washington’s offense has been one of the shocks of the season, as the team is putting up unprecedented statistics after four games – and offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury deserves a ton of credit.
Through the first four weeks of the 2024 season, the Commanders have averaged 0.315 EPA per play, which is the second-highest rate by any club in the first month of a season since 1999. At 16, they eventually broke their record of 16 straight scoring drives (not including kneel-downs), which had stood since 2000. Last but not least, and maybe the most amazing record thus far, Daniels has guided the Washington offence on 23 scoring drives this season—more than the total number of incomplete passes (19) that he has made.
Daniels put on yet another strong effort, and after two games, he now has an adjusted completion rate of above 90%. As he spearheaded this high-flying offence, his fast release and processing abilities were clearly demonstrated. Daniels’ collegiate standouts included his arm power and release. And these paths make that clear.
On the play above, the Cardinals went into an unusual Cover-3, rushing three and dropping eight into coverage. Daniels realized right away that the out route to Terry McLaurin would be disrupted as soon as he saw the edge sliding back into coverage. However, Daniels predicts the opening and fires the ball before McLaurin even breaks, having watched the cornerback adjust his hips to carry the seam.
Washington effectively had two receivers open on this play, and the quarterback is usually expected to take the shorter curl. Daniels felt he would have time to complete the throw because he expected the deeper curl to be available and the Cardinals would just rush three again. He was right, as Daniels scored another huge play when the short route pulled one defender below and the other fell too wide.
How well Daniels could attack the centre of the field regularly was one of the main issues after college. He’s done a perfect job passing that test thus far. Daniels completed 8 of 10 passes for 101 yards on throws between the numbers on Sunday, earning an 81.2 passing mark.His 77.9 passing grade on these throws this season is ninth in the NFL.
In the play above, Daniels initially didn’t like the “Hank” concept to the short side of the field and quickly recognized that with man coverage, the spacing concept on the other side would provide the answer. He calmly reset and fired a missile to Luke McCaffrey for a big gain on second-and-15. The fact that he could get to the backside of his read so efficiently against a five-man rush in just his fourth NFL start is incredibly impressive. Successfully and consistently attacking the middle of the field is a clear sign of a quarterback in complete control.
On the Commanders’ two-point conversion to go up 21, Daniels showcased his anticipation in attacking the middle of the field again. Daniels first took issue with the “Hank” concept on the short side of the field in the play already stated. But he quickly realized that the man coverage answer would be found in the spacing notion on the opposite side.
He calmly reset on second-and-15 and struck Luke McCaffrey with a rocket for a huge gain. It’s quite impressive that he was able to get to the backside of his read against a five-man rush with such efficiency in only his fourth NFL start. The game is completely under the power of a quarterback who can consistently and successfully target the middle of the field.
Daniels demonstrated his vision on the Commanders’ two-point conversion to go up 21 points by targeting the middle of the field once more. Right now, it seems like Kingsbury, Daniels, and this potent Washington offence have no match. But in the NFL, defences usually catch up, so Washington has to adjust. The main distinction is that Daniels seems to be the franchise quarterback the Commanders have been looking for for decades.
