Jayden Daniels didn’t look much like the quarterback that electrified college football last season and won a Heisman Trophy. For such an exciting player, what we saw in his NFL debut was pretty dull.
The Washington Commanders got little going on offense, but that was partially due to a hyper conservative game plan. Daniels looked like a rookie in his first NFL game and the Commanders fell to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 37-20. Daniels was 17 of 24 for 184 yards and rushed for 88 yards and two short touchdowns. It was a perfectly respectable debut, even if it was unspectacular.
It’s not easy to play quarterback as a rookie in the NFL, no matter how easy C.J. Stroud made it look last season. Caleb Williams didn’t even break 100 yards in his debut in what looked like a good matchup against the Tennessee Titans. Bo Nix struggled at times in his Denver Broncos debut. Daniels wasn’t bad, but the player who made several big plays a game at LSU last season didn’t get much going.
Daniels’ first pass wasn’t even officially a pass. He rushed a throw and threw it wildly to the running back coming out of the backfield, it was a backward pass and officially a lateral and a fumble. Washington recovered. Passing it backward on his first attempt set the tone for most of the Commanders’ passing plan on Sunday.
The Commanders came into the game clearly focused on a short passing game, to get the ball out quick likely due to a shaky offensive line. There was no real question about whether Daniels should start from Week 1 on, but he’s not in a great situation because of the line. It’s just something Washington hopes to manage. It also means the offense will be limited until the point in which they feel comfortable opening things up a little.
Daniels wasn’t bad. It wasn’t Daniels’ fault that kicker Cade York missed two field goals. That helped the Buccaneers open up a 23-7 lead during the third quarter, which put the rookie QB in a tough spot. Daniels didn’t play poorly, he just didn’t make many plays other than his numerous scrambles. By that point, Daniels had completed only two passes longer than 8 yards. It’s hard to run an offense with no downfield passing and relying on a quarterback to scramble most plays. It was also concerning to see Daniels take some hard hits, including two that knocked off his helmet.
Daniels finally got the Commanders in the end zone late in the third quarter. He hit Brian Robinson Jr., who had a nice run downfield for 32 yards. On the next play, Daniels scored his first NFL touchdown on a 1-yard read option run.
The Buccaneers scored a touchdown right after that to put the Commanders back in a deep hole. Washington punted on its next drive and it was practically over after that. Daniels did score a second touchdown on a run in garbage time near the end of the game.
Daniels has the ability to have a long, fantastic career. There’s a reason he was the second overall pick in a strong QB class. But his first game wasn’t the dynamic start anyone was hoping for.
