ASHBURN, Va. — Nothing about the play was typical. It was second-and-goal from the 16-yard line Sunday vs. New Orleans. Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels needed to scramble for eight seconds — one time even pushing the ball against the ground as he stumbled — before throwing the ball.
Receiver Terry McLaurin, sprinting from the other side, was open by less than a yard. Another defender was converging on the ball.
And yet: After extending the play for 8.04 seconds, Daniels stuck a pass right where it needed to be; McLaurin clutched it and the Commanders’ quarterback had stuffed another magical play in his pocket. Not that Daniels is wowed by what he does in the same manner others might be.
“It’s just going out there and doing my job,” said Daniels, who has the NFL’s fifth-best quarterback rating. “Doing what the defense allows me to do. Go out there and make plays when plays need to be made.”
As the Washington Commanders (9-5) try to clinch a playoff spot, and as injuries mount, Daniels’ job might require similar efforts. Fortunately for Washington, Daniels has been making such plays all season. But, after a three-game losing streak in which he dealt with the aftereffects of a rib injury, he has responded with consecutive games — separated by a bye week — where he has completed a combined 50 of 61 passes with five touchdowns in wins over Tennessee and New Orleans.
“You can tell he’s just rested, feeling better and hopefully that can lead to really good play down the stretch,” Washington offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury said.
It comes at a good time. Two key offensive players — receiver Noah Brown and running back Austin Ekeler — already are on injured reserve. A third, tight end Zach Ertz, suffered a concussion Sunday and his status for Sunday’s game vs. the Philadelphia Eagles (12-2) remains uncertain.
But with them out it puts more burden on Daniels to, well, be Daniels.
Plays such as the one in Washington’s 20-19 win over New Orleans highlight why the Commanders feel good. Ekeler and Brown have a combined 68 catches. Brown is done for the season, but Ekeler could return for the season finale. Ertz has caught 54 passes, including eight with four touchdowns in the red zone. He’s their second most productive pass catcher in both areas behind McLaurin.
However, as Daniels has gained experience it puts him and the Commanders in better position to overcome some player losses.
“It’s never easy to replace [starters], but Jayden’s done a great job, whoever we put in, of being disciplined in his reads and making the right throw and not turning the ball over,” Kingsbury said. “That’s the biggest thing.”
Daniels started the season strong: He was the first player in NFL history to surpass 1,000 passing yards and 250 rushing yards in his first five games; he set the record for the highest completion percentage after four games (82.1) and was the first player to complete at least 85% of his passes in consecutive games.
But the coaches say he has improved since that time, particularly in his knowledge of the offense.
“It’s the things that don’t show up on the stat sheet,” Quinn said. “It’s checking to the right play, it’s getting to the right protection, it’s taking care of the football with great decisions.”
If the Commanders do earn a playoff berth, those decisions will be a big reason. Daniels has thrown just six interceptions and hasn’t lost any of his five fumbles. With a thinner margin for error minus key parts, avoiding turnovers becomes more crucial.
It’s also a result of Daniels continuing to show up between 5 and 5:30 a.m. to watch film and, three days a week, conducting a walk-through with Kingsbury and quarterbacks coach Tavita Pritchard. One coach said when he arrives at 6:30 a.m., Daniels and Kingsbury are walking out of the practice bubble after a walk-through.
“You’re either getting better or you’re getting worse, and I don’t want to get worse,” Daniels said.
Backup quarterback Marcus Mariota, who was the No. 2 pick in the 2015 draft, said consistency helps combat complacency in a rookie.
“When you’re a young player when you have success it’s like, ‘OK I can do this,'” Mariota said. “For him he’s done a great job of, ‘That’s not enough I want more.’ We need to just continue to encourage him to be that way. It really elevates everybody else around.”
But Daniels also is playing faster in the red zone. In the first eight games Daniels completed 14 of 29 passes with four touchdowns inside the 20-yard line. However, in the past six games he has completed 17 of 23 with nine touchdowns. Daniels has become more adept at recognizing which side of the defense is playing man or zone and adjusting accordingly.
Also, on a 3-yard touchdown pass Sunday, Daniels quickly went through his progressions before finding his third in McLaurin. Daniels has improved, McLaurin said, at diagnosing what the defense is doing in this area compared to earlier in the year.
In the red zone, “he’s playing fast,” Kingsbury said of Daniels.
Daniels has 3,045 passing yards and 17 touchdowns; he also has rushed for 656 yards and six touchdowns. Against the Saints, Daniels wasn’t perfect. His decision-making helped play a role in the Saints recording eight sacks. But Daniels also made multiple big plays with his legs — sometimes it was just a scramble for 2 yards on third-and-2 or a leap over a lineman to pick up a fourth-and-1. Or there were big throws — on one scoring drive consecutive 12-yard completions bailed them out of a second-and-20 situation.
On the 16-yard touchdown pass to McLaurin, Daniels converted a play that had a 16.1% chance of being completed, according to Next Gen Stats. It was a play few could make. More like that would go a long way for Washington in the next three weeks.
“He made some plays,” Saints interim coach Darren Rizzi said. “That is what he does. That’s why he won the Heisman Trophy. That’s why he’s having the season he’s having. He’s a phenomenal player. He had a couple of runs. He made some great throws. Jayden Daniels is going to make those plays.”