Jayden Daniels doesn’t get rattled, even when a hard hit leaves his face bleeding.
The rookie quarterback led the Washington Commanders to a remarkable eight-win improvement from the previous season, and he wasn’t going to let a little blood stop him in his biggest game yet.
He kept making plays and doing whatever was necessary to help Washington reach its first playoff game since he was five years old.
With blood dripping down his face beneath his right eye, Daniels threw a 10-yard touchdown pass to Dyami Brown to give the Commanders a 7-3 lead over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers early in the second quarter, in a 23-20 win on Sunday night in the NFC wild-card game.
He went to the sideline, had the cut closed up with super glue, and then came back to play the next series.
“I didn’t know I was bleeding until they told me,” Daniels said. “I wiped it and was like, ‘Oh, I’m bleeding.’”
Daniels threw two incomplete passes on fourth downs when coach Dan Quinn passed up short field goals, but he stayed focused.
With the game on the line, Daniels stayed calm and helped Washington win its first playoff game since January 7, 2006, a gap of 6,945 days.
Daniels threw a 5-yard touchdown pass to Terry McLaurin on fourth-and-2, giving the Commanders a 20-17 lead in the fourth quarter.
After the Buccaneers settled for a field goal to tie the game, Daniels had another chance for late-game heroics. He had already thrown a 52-yard Hail Mary touchdown to beat Chicago in Week 8 and led five comeback wins during the regular season.
This time, he just needed to get the Commanders into field-goal range.
Daniels connected with Brown for 21 yards on third-and-6 from Washington’s 34 to extend the final drive. On third-and-2 from Tampa Bay’s 15, Daniels eluded a tackle and ran 4 yards for a first down, allowing the Commanders to run down the clock until Zane Gonzalez made a 37-yard field goal as time expired for the win.
“I think you just kind of find that zone,” Daniels said about playing in pressure moments. “And you don’t hear (anything) — you just focus on your fundamentals and you focus on playing in the playoffs.”
Daniels was 24 of 35 for 268 yards and two touchdowns. He also ran for 36 yards and was sacked only once. On third and fourth downs, he completed 9 of 15 passes for 108 yards and two touchdowns, earning eight first downs.
The Commanders selected the Heisman Trophy winner from LSU with the No. 2 overall pick in the draft last April. He lost to the Buccaneers in his NFL debut on the same field but went on to have an impressive season, earning a Pro Bowl selection.
However, Daniels and his teammates are not just happy to be in the playoffs. They went from 4-13 to 12-5 and became the first road team to win in this year’s playoffs.
Next Saturday night, they will face the No. 1 seed Detroit Lions (15-2) in the divisional round, with the Commanders being 8 1/2-point underdogs, according to Bet MGM Sportsbook.
Daniels won’t be intimidated.
“This is what he’s been doing all season,” McLaurin said. “It’s the preparation that we put in, and I know people may be tired of hearing ‘winning-time moments,’ but that’s real, and it shows up. That’s what the playoffs are about. You may not play the perfect game, but if you have the ball and a chance to win, we trust our preparation in the moments we’ve been in this year.”
“To see Jayden continue to get us in the right calls, execute what (offensive coordinator) Kliff (Kingsbury) is calling, showing poise, and taking complete command of the game, I’m fortunate to play with him and see how much he’s grown this year. That’s who he is. He’s been blessed with unbelievable ability, but his ability to just be ready for any moment is definitely special for a rookie.”
Daniels is a favorite for the AP Offensive Player of the Year award. He’s three wins away from lifting the Vince Lombardi Trophy.
