Jayden Daniels #5 of the Washington Commanders scrambles against Vita Vea #50 of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Photo by Julio Aguilar/Getty Images)
It's safe to say that the Washington Commanders are fully behind their 22-year-old quarterback Jayden Daniels.
The rookie sensation continued to add to his resume with another clutch performance in the Commander' 23-20 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the wild card round of the NFL playoffs. Daniels not only finished the game with 268 passing yards, two touchdowns, zero turnovers and a 110.2 passer rating, he led the game-winning drive with time expiring.
It was the Commanders' sixth win while trailing or tied in the final 10 seconds of regulation this season. It was also their first playoff victory since the 2005 season, ending one of the longest postseason win droughts in the NFL.
"Unbelievable, you can't say enough good things about how he's handled these situations and scenarios," backup quarterback Marcus Mariota tells RG of Daniels' poise and clutch play in his rookie season. "It's very, very impressive and I'm very fortunate to be a part of it and I think he's still growing and still learning which is unbelievable. He's really set a solid foundation for him moving forward."
Living Up to the Hype
Mariota knows a thing or two about being a highly touted quarterback, having won the Heisman Trophy at the University of Oregon and being selected with the No. 2 overall pick in the 2015 NFL Draft, the same slot where Daniels was selected last year.
While Mariota started four years and won a playoff game with the Titans, he had difficulty living up to his draft billing, eventually settling in as a journeyman backup quarterback at the start of the 2020 season. On the other hand, Daniels – who is the favorite to win the Offensive Rookie of the Year award – has had no such problem.
"That's what's awesome – it's been very much the same," says Mariota of Daniels' preparation heading into their playoff game.
"It's been very consistent. He really believes in the process that he has. Our coaches do a great job of instilling that in him, giving him that confidence and breathing that into him. For us if we can just continue to reiterate to him consistency, the sky's the limit."
Daniels has had little problem with consistency, helping lead the Commanders to 12 wins and five straight victories to end the regular season. Outside of the regular season finale in which he only played part of the game, Daniels ended the season with four straight games with at least a 99.1 passer rating.
His legacy has only grown further after becoming just the fourth rookie quarterback to win a road playoff game, doing so despite the Commanders trailing 17-13 in the fourth quarter.
The Commanders' punter, Tress Way, is the longest-tenured member of the team, having joined the franchise in 2014. He's seen a number of quarterbacks and head coaches pass through the team, but this time it's different – the Commanders finally have stability with Daniels and head coach Dan Quinn.
"He's unbelievable," says Way. "Anytime he's on the field, he's fun to watch, easy to trust. He is just special, it's unbelievable."
Commanders Turning the Corner
Mariota speaks of the importance of this playoff win, which just comes two years after the franchise faced turmoil and controversy with their previous owner, Dan Snyder. The current ownership group now includes Josh Harris and Los Angeles Lakers legend Magic Johnson.
"Huge, it's hard to put into words," says Mariota of the impact of the playoff win. "For a lot of us, it's special to be a part of. There are guys during their careers who never get a chance to be in the playoffs. For this team to put one together, to win on the road, says a lot about this group, moving forward, we have a huge challenge in front of us. But I think I'll take these guys any day of the week against anybody."
While the Commanders will face a daunting task in matching up against the No. 1-seeded Detroit Lions in Detroit – they enter as 8.5-point underdogs – the team's confidence is high entering yet another road playoff matchup.
"My favorite attribute of DQ and the way he coaches is the reality of the fight," says Way of Quinn.
"We're not going to prepare this week to beat Detroit by three touchdowns. If that happens, we would all love that. But we are prepping this week to throw our punches, take punches, counter punches, and just fight."
"I love what coach says – he always says whether it's four quarters, five quarters, or all the way out to the parking lot, we're going to fight until it's over," Way continues to say. "It's very easy to get behind."
Mariota says Quinn set the precedent early on for a Commanders team that was coming off of a three-win season last year.
Reaves shares what Quinn's message was to the Commanders entering their playoff game against the Buccaneers – just let loose.
"Just go play ball," says Reaves of Quinn's message before the game. "Just go play ball. Have fun, man. Just don't make the moment bigger than what it is, man. Just go out there, have fun, let loose. Trust in your brothers, man. Just let it go."
Although people won't be expecting the Commanders to beat the Lions, the Commanders and Reaves are keeping it simple when it comes to what they need to do to pull off the upset.
"Just gotta go play our football, man," says Reaves. "At the end of the day, three-phase football wins games, man. So that has to be the focus."
DJ Siddiqi
