Jayden Daniels achieved much more than just a standout performance as part of this year’s impressive group of rookie quarterbacks.
He delivered a performance that few quarterbacks, regardless of experience, have matched recently in Washington’s 38-33 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals on Monday night.
Daniels completed 21 out of 23 passes, setting a rookie record with a completion rate of 91.3%, for a total of 254 yards, two touchdown passes, and one touchdown run.
While those numbers are impressive for any quarterback, what really stands out is how efficiently Daniels has been running the offense.
Washington has scored on every drive in the past two weeks, except for three kneeldowns at the end of a half or game, becoming the first team in Super Bowl history to have no punts or turnovers in two consecutive games.
Before the Commanders played their Week 2 game against the New York Giants, there had been 6,192 regular-season games in the NFL since 2000. Only seven of those games (0.11%) had a team score a touchdown or field goal on every drive, excluding kneeldowns.
The Commanders achieved this feat in back-to-back weeks, with Daniels being the only quarterback to start in two of those games. The others who have done it include Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers, Drew Brees, Kurt Warner, Jared Goff, Baker Mayfield, and Josh McCown.
Starting with a touchdown drive at the end of a Week 1 loss to Tampa Bay, Daniels has led 14 straight scoring drives. The Commanders got field goals on all seven drives in Week 2 against the Giants and scored five touchdowns and one field goal against Cincinnati.