Washington Commanders rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels stole the spotlight in the football community following an impressive performance on “Monday Night Football” during Week 3. The No. 2 overall draft pick concluded the thrilling 38-33 matchup with 254 passing yards, two touchdown passes, and an impressive completion rate of 91.3% from 23 attempts. He also rushed for a third touchdown and gained 39 yards on the ground, leading his team to its second victory while making history. According to ESPN’s broadcast, the Commanders-Bengals game marked the first NFL matchup since 1940 to feature a punt or turnover. Following his remarkable showing in Cincinnati, the NFL honored Daniels as the NFC Offensive Player of the Week for Week 3, with the announcement made on Wednesday afternoon.
NFC Players of the Week! (Week 3)@JayD__5 | @jongreenard7 | @MrJackFox | @Gatorade pic.twitter.com/EIYIhRciED
— NFL (@NFL) September 25, 2024
“There have been few—if any—rookie prime-time debuts as impressive as Daniels’ performance on Monday night,” wrote Grant Gordon of NFL.com.
Like his fellow 2024 rookie quarterbacks, Daniels initially struggled with his statistics, accumulating only 410 passing yards in his first two games against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and New York Giants. However, he compensated for this with his rushing ability, amassing 88 yards and two touchdowns in Week 1 in Tampa. His one-yard touchdown pass to Trent Scott in the third quarter of Monday’s game marked the first passing touchdown of his career.
Next on the schedule for Washington and their emerging star quarterback is a Week 4 road game against Kyler Murray and the Arizona Cardinals.
