On Sunday, rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels made his long-awaited debut in Tampa.
Against the Buccaneers, the second overall pick threw for 184 yards and went 17-for-24 to earn a completion rate of 70.8%. What stood out most was Daniels' quickness and ability to get out of the pocket, running for 88 yards and rushing for two touchdowns. His legs earned him a 74.6 PFF rushing grade and praise from Head Coach Dan Quinn.
"I thought he got to fully express all the things that he has of using his legs and being aggressive down the field," Quinn said in his postgame press conference Sunday. "Like him, like a number of the players tonight, there's going to be a lot of take-aways and things that we're going to like, things that we want to improve upon.
"But what I can tell you is we got one hell of a competitor in him. We're just getting started with him and the guys. That's why when you have a performance like tonight where it doesn't go your way, you want to question how you prepare, and these guys really put it in and were ready. So when you don't deliver when you put the work in, it stings more. We got work to do for sure, but Tampa was the better team tonight."
While the media, coaches and teammates had positive takeaways from the rookie's first outing, Daniels isn't satisfied with his performance in the Washington Commanders' 37-20 loss.
"I grade myself hard," Daniels said in his press conference following the game. "We didn't win. I'm a competitor. I like to win, but overall it went well, pretty well. There's some stuff that as an offense we left on the field. We have to execute better, but it's a long season. We're going to move on from this."
Daniels made it clear that if the team isn't winning, he won't be happy no matter how well he might be playing. His standard for the team and drive to win overshadows anything else that might be going on in his head, such as nerves or outside noise.
"Once that ball was snapped, it [nerves] goes away and you are playing football again," Daniels said. "It's the same game I've been playing since I was a kid. Even though the stakes are higher, I still revert back to the time where I was 7 years old playing against my friends."
Games such as this one are identity forming, especially for a rookie quarterback. Daniels understands that stumbles are something that comes with the transition from the preseason to the regular season -- no individual or team is going to be perfect Week 1, and as a quarterback, the way Daniels carries himself after a loss will set the tone for the team from week-to-week.
Always a competitor, Daniels is going to put the team in the best position to win, even if it doesn't show up in his post-game stat line. At the end of the day, he views football as a team sport, and if the team doesn't win, individual accolades have no bearing.
"I'm going to do whatever it takes to try to win the football game," Daniels said. "I don't put a number or anything on how many times I'm going to run and stuff like that, but I just try to do whatever it takes to help the team win the game."
The Washington Commanders have begun warming up for their Week 1 game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. (Photos by Emilee Fails/Washington Commanders)
Regardless of the outcome, Daniels is proud of the way his team fought up until the very end, which was on full display in the fourth quarter.
With just 1:21 remaining and victory out of reach, the Commanders didn't surrender and instead continued to put points on the board. Daniels rushed for his second touchdown of the day and instead of opting to go for the extra point, the team decided to try for a two-point conversion. Although the attempt was unsuccessful, the decision to go for more displays the Commanders' continued fight and willingness to never give up.
"Obviously it's not the way we wanted it to go, but we finished strong and ended up in the end zone, and we can build on it for next week," Daniels said.
Going into Week 2, Daniels has stressed the importance of moving on quickly. He won't forget that losing feeling, but he also doesn't want to stew in the loss. Instead, Daniels will shift his focus to winning the next game, which in this case has higher stakes considering it will be his first outing against a divisional opponent.
The Commanders will host the New York Giants on Sunday, providing Daniels with even more fuel to focus on what's ahead rather than dwelling on the past.
"I'm past it tomorrow. It doesn't matter no more," he said. "We're on to New York."
