The season Jayden Daniels just had will go down in the history books. After a Heisman Trophy-winning campaign at LSU in 2023, Daniels came into the NFL amid much fanfare. Somehow, he proceeded to live up to and surpass every expectation en route to the greatest rookie quarterback season of all time.
However, his season came to a heartbreaking end in the NFC Championship Game as the Philadelphia Eagles annihilated the Commanders to the tune of a 55-23 victory. After the game, Daniels was as honest as he was vulnerable.
Jayden Daniels Pours His Heart Out After NFC Championship Loss
After an explosive start for Philadelphia, Daniels brought the game back to a score of 14-12, narrowly trailing midway through the second quarter. However, the next time he got the ball, the Eagles already had two more touchdowns to end the first half thanks to a return fumble.
From there, the game was practically over with the deficit too large for Washington to overcome. On a night when they had four turnovers, only one came courtesy of the QB who threw a desperate heave to try and force a comeback.
However, he didn’t blame his teammates one bit for the collapse. Speaking at the postgame press conference, Daniels only had praise and pride in them. “Obviously, man it sucks. This s**t just sucks, excuse my language, but just I couldn’t be prouder of the guys in the locker room.”
He spoke about the commitment it took for a relatively new team to gel together and find the success that they did: “Year 1, everybody not really knowing each other, rookie — vets did a tremendous job of bringing us in and helping us out. And we all just meshed.”
Just a year ago, Washington was a four-win team in the doldrums of the league. They hadn’t made the playoffs since 2020 and hadn’t won a playoff game in nearly two decades. However, the 2024 season changed it all, with Daniels’ emergence fueling a 12-5 year for the Commanders.
“We got to the point where at the end of the day, we lost; it sucks for a little bit but we’ll move on from this.” As the rookie states, optimism is fairly high in the Washington camp. And after the season they had constantly defied the odds, it’s hard not to believe in this team.
Daniels — who finished as the ninth-ranked quarterback in the league and fifth including the playoffs, according to PFN’s QB+ metric — was spectacular in the regular season but somehow even better in the playoffs.
Not only did he lead Washington to the NFC Championship Game, but he did it with the most touchdowns by a rookie in NFL postseason history with five to his name.
After totaling 4,459 yards in the regular season, along with 31 total touchdowns, Daniels was even better in the playoffs, averaging over 300 total yards per game, with six total touchdowns against just one interception.
With more experience coming his way, Daniels’ ceiling should only grow higher. Already, the success has been unparalleled for the California native. His positivity breeds confidence that Washington could be a major force for years to come.