Sam Darnold’s MVP run continues, Ravens save season with win in Dallas
Sports Seriously’s Mackenzie Salmon “overreacts” to the key news from Sunday’s games.
Sport in Seriousness
The Week 3 clash between the Washington Commanders and the Cincinnati Bengals on Monday Night Football was billed as a battle between two of LSU’s best quarterbacks and the school’s two most recent Heisman Trophy winners.
It definitely lived up to the hype.
Both Joe Burrow and Jayden Daniels shone in this high-scoring game. Burrow became only the second quarterback of the 2024 NFL season, alongside Andy Dalton, to throw for at least 300 yards and three touchdowns in a single game.
However, it was Daniels who stole the show, leading the Commanders to an unexpected 38-33 victory.
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Daniels delivered a remarkable game that showed why Washington selected him with the second pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. He not only showed off his mobility at the highest level, but also his impressive ability to make passes downfield.
But most importantly, Daniels was precise and efficient in his third NFL appearance, setting a rookie record and helping the Commanders to a surprising 2-1 start to the season.
Jayden Daniels stats against Bengals
Below are Daniel’s stats from the Commanders’ 38-33 win over the Bengals:
- Completions/attempts (%): 21/23 (91.3%)
- Passing Yards: 254
- Touchdowns happen: 2
- Passer Rating: 141.7
- Rushing Yards: 39
- Rushing TDs: 1
Daniels’ completion percentage set a new rookie record for completion percentage in a game in which the player attempted at least 20 passes. Dak Prescott held the previous record of 88.9 percent, which he achieved in 2016 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Daniels was every bit as accurate as the numbers suggest, having one notable miss early in the game when he left Terry McLaurin free for a potential long touchdown but threw the ball way behind and over him as he struggled with inside pressure.
Daniels then showed great ball placement on his throws, and he may have saved his best for last when he threw a perfect ball to McLaurin in the end zone on third-and-7, effectively ending the game.
While Daniels was dominant in the air, he was also a key contributor to Washington’s running game, leading the Commanders with 39 rushing yards and finding the end zone on a read-option play early in the game.
Daniels’ ability and efficiency to beat two players at once was historic. According to NFL researcher Tony Holzman-Escareno, the Commanders rookie is the only player in NFL history to throw for 250 yards and two touchdowns, run for a touchdown and complete 90 percent of his passes since at least 1950.
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For Daniels, Monday was definitely a coming out party. During a postgame press conference, he even admitted that he wasn’t sure he’d ever had a game where he didn’t complete at least two passes.
He left the game knowing he had done exactly what he hoped for on one of the NFL’s biggest stages.
“I’m a competitor,” Daniels told reporters. “I want to compete at the highest level. It’s a blessing to go out every Sunday and do things that a lot of people in the world can’t do.”
