Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels addressed the media before practice on Jan. 14. Here is a full transcript of the press conference.
On what he gets out of his early morning walkthroughs with Offensive Coordinator Kliff Kingsbury:
"Reps, just going over the plays for the week and the more reps you get at it, the more comfortable you are with it."
On how important the walkthroughs have been for him:
"I mean, they help out. Like I said, the best lesson in life is failure. So, I get to fail in those type of things, type of situations and move forward. So, by the time game time comes, I'm not thinking about [it], just going out there and playing."
On Detroit's defense:
"Yeah, good defense. They get their hands on the ball, obviously, with [Detroit Lions S] Kirby [Joseph] and well, I call him BB, but [Detroit Lions S] Brian Branch. Obviously, up front what they could do, create pressure, play some man coverage because they trust their guys on the outside. It's going to be a challenge for us."
On if he's sensed joy from the alumni who are around the team:
"Yeah, I mean, obviously, everybody's excited. I don't really focus too much on that. I kind of focus on the task at hand, but we love having them around and showing their support and their joy to the season that we're having."
On his mentality while on the field:
"I don't have an answer for you on that. I'm just competitive man, I just want to win. I'm going to do whatever it takes to win. But to answer the question, I really don't know. It's kind of just me just going out there and playing football."
On going back to Detroit for the first time since the 2024 NFL Draft:
"I mean, it's awesome. It's something where my dreams became reality. And I to go back and play a playoff game there against a very good team. It's just nothing but a blessing."
On if the first playoff game felt any different compared to the regular season and on if anything has changed throughout the week:
"Nah, it's just another game to me. Obviously, everybody puts the implications and makes it bigger than what it really is. But at the end of the day, it's still the game. You got to go out there and stick to your routine, stick to who you are, the process of what got you there, and go out there and just play football. And then to the guys, we're just taking it day by day, be where our feet are and we'll handle business when the time comes."
On having the chance to win in the final minutes:
"I mean, it's like kind of what [Head Coach Dan Quinn] said, it's what you live for. That's what you kind of play the sport for, to when it's time, to go out there and make plays. You're going to see who rises to the occasion and make plays. So, we kind of thrive there. Obviously, we would rather go out there and win by 20, but when those situations come up, that's what DQ [Quinn] and them preach so much. And they teach us about situational football, so we're always prepared for those moments."
On the cut to his cheek:
"I'm good. It was just nothing but a little cut."
On the cut has brought annoyances or any changes to his helmet:
"Nah, just a little cut."
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On mentally preparing for late game situations when they are on the horizon:
*"I think you kind of just see how much time you going to get with kind of the clock. You could get the ball back at this amount of time, obviously, bearing if a turnover or something doesn't happen. But I mean, it's kind of just staying in the moment, not worried too much about what the outcome could be, what the end of score, what could happen there. It's like, 'Hey, when we get an opportunity to go out there and you got to go out there and make some plays, let's do it.'"
On how Assistant Quarterbacks Coach David Blough has helped him this season and on Blough's biggest strength as a coach:
"I mean, just the approach. Obviously, he's competitive too, so we get there and he tries to fire me up with some things and get me going. But obviously just the in's and out's. Very smart, very intelligent and just a little things but not too much. They don't really try to coach me a lot, outside of X's and O's, he is kind of just, hey, be there, motivate, breathe, breathe life into me and let go out there and play ball."
On the last time he was nervous on a football field:
"I don't know. I don't want to say nervous, but I think you just get butterflies. My dad always told me you get butterflies, that means you're alive, but it's not necessarily nervous because I'm always prepared."
On when his dad told him that and on if he embraced what he said:
"I don't think I was ever nervous because it was just fun. Football was fun for me, but I just know that I'm always prepared for the moment. I could just go out there and live with what happens."
On WR Dyami Brown as a receiver and teammate:
"Yeah, great teammate, has my back, I have his back and he's always there for everybody. So, just see him when those times, when those plays need to be made for him to step up and make those plays and those critical moments, nothing but excitement for him and how hard he works because I know he prepared for moments like that."
On the wide receivers stepping up when needed:
"Yeah, I think those guys are just making the plays when they come their way. They're not pressing or anything. They work extremely hard, they block without the ball, that's kind of what we preach on offense. Like running without the ball, you never know what block might spring the runner. You never know what you could do to help out the team. So, it's just 11 playing as one. Everybody's doing their job, and that's kind of what we preach. So, to answer your question, what you see at everybody, level of play rising, I mean, there's no surprise to me."
On if he's seen the level of excitement in the community after the playoff win:
"No, I haven't been able to see it. I kind of stay in my own bubble right now, focus on what's next. But I could just tell a lot of people are excited. I mean, the people kind of experienced more the most is my parents. So, they always tell me about everybody that's excited to see them and stuff like that. But for me, just kind of just stay in my own bubble, stay at home.
On the support he's received from those around him during his rookie year:
"Yeah, it's night and day just knowing that I have people in there, win, lose the draw no matter what. Always going to love me unconditionally, always there to support me. And then just see [Former LSU teammate and New York Giants WR] Malik [Nabers] and [Former LSU teammate and Jacksonville Jaguars WR] Brian [Thomas Jr.] show up to the game, they didn't have to do that. Could have been somewhere on vacation or anything, but that relationship, that bond that we built over those couple years, man, it is just bigger than football."
On if having the support system has made it easier to focus on football:
"Yeah, I mean I just kind of was able to know that I had people outside of football that's going to help me out, take care of things that I need to be taken care of so I could just focus solely on football when the time being. So yeah, it's been a joy for sure."
On pre-snap communication with a loud environment like Detroit:
"Yeah, I mean, just kind of getting on the ball, getting set, not really just moping around. So, we have time to see the defense, to see if we need to make a check or we need to communicate protection, stuff like that. So, it kind of just goes with our urgency and how we approach the line of scrimmage each and every play."
On how important C Tyler Biadasz is in the pre-snap process:
"Extremely important. Just somebody that I talk to daily about different looks that we see, whether that's run game protection, stuff like that. So, just be able to be on the same page so we see something we already know, like, 'Hey, look, let's do this protection. Let's go here, let's maybe flip this protection and go this way.'"
On if he's always been comfortable in loud environments of if it's something he got used to over time:
"I think you kind of just get used to it, but obviously it's something new to me and I heard Detroit is very electric, so I'm excited for them, for their fans to come out to bring some juice because I know it's a very passionate fan base and, obviously, rightfully so with the team that they're having. So, I know it's going to be loud in there. So, we got to go out there and be prepared ready for the crowd noise."
On if he draws energy from opposing teams' crowd noise:
"Nah, I just can go out there and just do me."
