The Washington Commanders regular season opener against the Tamp Bay Buccaneers on Sunday will hardly be the first time Jayden Daniels has played in a big-time atmosphere. He played in the SEC -- where crowds of 100,000 are more common -- and dominated in what is widely considered to be the best conference in college football.
Still, Daniels knows butterflies will be fluttering in his stomach ahead of kickoff. They normally do...for a little bit at least.
"Right before a kickoff, but after that it's just football at the end of the day," Daniels said. "God wouldn't put me in a position that he wouldn't feel I'm ready for."
It isn't just the divine powers that have deemed Daniels to be worthy to make his NFL debut as the Commanders' starting quarterback; the coaches have given him the nod as well, as he passed every test given to him during OTAs, minicamp and training camp. The next one -- his biggest up to this point -- will be against the Buccaneers, who boast a solid defense led by a head coach who prides himself on confusing rookie quarterbacks.
Daniels plans to address the challenge just as he did all the rest: calm and collected.
"Go out there and just focus where my feet are, focus on practice, focus on the day," Daniels said. "Don't look too far ahead."
Of all the things Daniels has done since he was drafted No. 2 overall by the Commanders, looking ahead is not one of them. Coach Dan Quinn and general manager Adam Peters had a plan to ease Daniels into being the starting quarterback. That was always the end goal, of course, but Quinn and Peters wanted Daniels to earn the job as well as establish a culture founded on competition regardless of position.
The results showed more than Quinn and Peters thought they were getting in Daniels, who put in the extra work to show he deserved to be the starter and showed off his skill set on the practice field. Because of that, Daniels went from behind Marcus Mariota in the rotation to starting in the preseason and eventually being given the reins of the offense.
"We knew we would get here, but we were just excited to see how we would," Quinn said of Daniels. "So, seeing him hit all the spots, this is a rare competitor, and those are the things that I knew about him. But seeing it in your own building, on your own team, around new teammates, that was cool to see."
Daniels largely performed as expected in the preseason games against the New York Jets and Miami Dolphins. He went 12-of-15 for 123 yards in three total drives, highlighted by a 42-yard pass to Dyami Brown and a three-yard touchdown run. Sure, his opponents kept things simple and weren't game planning for the Heisman Trophy winner, but those plays offered glimpses into what the offense could be with him in the backfield.
Now, however, the games count, and teams are going to put together plans designed around stopping Daniels from gaining confidence. Daniels knows this, but his preparation is going to stay the same.
"Approach the day, try to get better each and every day," Daniels said. "It's not gonna be a finished product week one, but just try to get better and go out there and go through some growing pains. As you know...you're a rookie. You're not gonna have everything perfect. You can strive for perfection, but it's not gonna be perfect."
Bucs head coach and defensive play caller Todd Bowles will try to make sure Daniels' NFL debut is as imperfect as possible. Tampa Bay's defense wasn't flashy in 2023, finishing 23rd in yards and third downs allowed, but they were one of eight teams to allow an average of less than 100 rushing yards per game and tied for sixth in points allowed. They also allowed the third lowest scoring percentage in the red zone (45%).
The Commanders hadn't started breaking down the Buccaneers in earnest last week, but Daniels was well aware of the task ahead of him.
"I mean a very sound defense," Daniels said. "Obviously, what Todd Bowles does over there and his track record as a defensive coordinator. Everything speaks for itself. They got a very savvy veteran, LaVonte David, that's controlling the defense. He knows what's gonna go on, so we gotta go out there and we just gotta execute."
Daniels said it was "fun to go out there and play my first couple snaps in the preseason...and get my feet wet a little bit," but he knows that doesn't necessarily make him ready for what he'll see in Week 1. He still hasn't experienced what he called "the true atmosphere of the NFL stadium," and most of the positive plays he made in August were in the controlled experience of practice.
He also knows there will be ups and downs on Sunday. His job is to stay grounded and make sure there are more of the former than the latter.
"Don't get too high, don't get too low," Daniels said. "Because at the end of the day, it takes a team to help people out. Can't go out there and think I'm the savior. When the plays are out there to be made, make the plays, but got to get to 10 other guys. And in the whole organization, moving forward in one direction."
And there's only one way to do that for Daniels: just play ball.
"It's gonna mean a lot, not only for me, but my family," Daniels said. "Just go out there and just soak it all up, be where my feet are and just go from there. Play football."
