At one point during Monday night’s remarkable 38-33 Washington Commanders win, one of their legends, Super Bowl quarterback Joe Theismann, posted this on social media while admiring the savior, Jayden Daniels:
“This is fun to watch. Go Commanders.”
It may have been Theismann’s best analysis.
There are many ways to describe the rookie quarterback’s performance in the upset win over the Bengals in Cincinnati — historic would be one — but for Commanders fans, “fun” will do, thank you.
It was fun, in a way that has been in short supply around this franchise for decades.
Oh, there have been moments over the last 30 years.
There was the ”shock and awe” year of 2012 and Robert Griffin III.
But hope always seemed to ring hollow. Disaster seemed to lurk around the corner. The aura of self-destruction that followed owner Dan Snyder hung over this franchise like a fog.
It feels different this time.
What we saw Monday night — a young quarterback taking the team on his shoulders to beat a favored Bengals team on their home field, a team that had taken the Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs to the edge the week before in a 26-25 loss — was the hope of better days ahead.
“The only word I can really say is hope,” Commanders guard Sam Cosmi told reporters after the win. “I believe. We believe.”
The former New York Giants general manager who traded for two-time Super Bowl champion quarterback Eli Manning in the 2004 draft said the quarterback you want is the guy who, when he gets on the team bus to head for the game, his teammates believe they have a chance to win that day because of him.
That was Daniels on Monday night, and now moving forward this season for Washington (2-1), the rookie is driving the bus.
“He is as composed of a rookie as I’ve seen and at the hardest position in football,” said Commanders guard Nick Allegretti.
These are the men whose job it is to protect Daniels. These are the players on the bus who believe in him.
Typically, rookie quarterbacks are successful when they don’t lose the game for their team. Daniels won this game, just his third in the NFL, for the Commanders, nailing it down with a dramatic fourth-quarter 27-yard touchdown pass to Terry McLaurin, a play that stunned everyone for its poise and precision.
NFL analyst Chase Daniel posted on social media: “Never seen a rookie with the courage in the pocket to deliver a dime while he’s getting crushed.”
In the post-game interview, Daniels put it on his faith in his teammate. “I know I was going to take a hit, but I trust my players, my guy, to go out there and make a play.”
It was the kind of play you expected from the other guy under center, Cincinnati quarterback Joe Burrow, who took his team to the AFC title game two years ago.
Daniels, 23, completed 21 of 23 passes — the only two he missed were long bombs he attempted — for 254 yards and two touchdowns. His 91.3 completion percentage was the highest by a rookie passer in a game in NFL history. It was also the single-game high in franchise history. Zero interceptions in his first 12 quarters of NFL play — remarkable control for a rookie.
He ran the ball 12 times for 39 yards but showed growth and maturity by not running at the first sign of trouble. On second down near the Cincinnati goal line early in the third quarter, Daniels was trying to avoid the pass rush and looked as if he was ready to take off. Instead, he stopped and found Noah Brown at the one. Two plays later, Daniels found tackle Trent Scott in the end zone on a tackle-eligible pass to take a 28-13 Washington lead.
There was a lot more that went on Monday night other than Daniels’ excellence.
Running back Austin Ekeler was a big part of the early offense, with a 24-yard touchdown run and a 62-yard kickoff return. But Ekeler left the game in third quarter with a concussion and will be questionable next week against Arizona.
McLaurin, who had been under fire early for his lack of production, caught four passes for 100 yards and the celebrated touchdown catch.
The offensive line protected Daniels, and rookie Brandon Coleman’s performance was particularly noteworthy.
There were no punts and no turnovers for either team.
But the Washington defense is still a swinging gate, their two highly paid defensive tackles, Daron Payne and Jonathan Allen, are missing in action and there are still questions whether Joe Whitt Jr. can handle his first run as a defensive coordinator.
There is, though, hope — not just hope for today, but for tomorrow. There is Daniels. There is fun.
⦁ You can hear Thom Loverro on The Kevin Sheehan Show podcast.
• Thom Loverro can be reached at tloverro@washingtontimes.com.
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