Washington Commanders QB Jayden Daniels is well on his way to winning the NFL’s Offensive Rookie of the Year award.
Daniels has been incredible this season and many of his peers around the NFL have taken notice, including division rival Micah Parsons. The Dallas Cowboys EDGE puts Daniels right up there with some of the greats in NFL history.
Micah Parsons Compares Jayden Daniels To NFL Greats
On “Inside the NFL,” Parsons had some high praise for Daniels.
“In every moment, it seems like he’s never fazed,” Parsons told Ryan Clark and Co.
“So when I see that, it’s just like I can’t go against a guy like that. We’ve only seen two guys in that league like that, that’s not fazed like that when it matters the most and that’s Patrick Mahomes and Tom Brady.
“So when I see this guy’s not fazed, and at every moment he just seems to shine the brightest, and he just put those drives together to win those games, I just can’t bet against a guy like that.”
.@MicahhParsons11 says he sees some similarities between @JayD__5, @PatrickMahomes and @TomBrady 👀@insidetheNFL Wednesdays 9/8c on @TheCW pic.twitter.com/bjXQ6nx7Y4
— NFL (@NFL) January 15, 2025
Looking at the stats, Parsons might be onto something. Across the group’s first 18 starts, Daniels has very comparable numbers to Mahomes and Brady in one-score games with five minutes remaining.
Daniels has a 66.7% win percentage, a 112.9 passer rating, and 40.6% first downs per pass attempt. Meanwhile, Mahomes and Brady have a 68.4% win percentage, a 103.3 passer rating, and 37.3% first downs per pass attempt.
Parsons has played against the best in the league, and now it seems he’s putting Daniels in that tier. Anyone who has watched Daniels play this season would have a hard time arguing with Parsons, as the rookie is certainly special.
Daniels has been clutch in the closing minutes of games, which makes him dangerous as the Commanders continue their playoff march.
Parsons isn’t the only one making this comparison. Hall of Fame quarterback Kurt Warner also compared Daniels to Mahomes.
I know @JayD__5 has been great in the moment, same thing we have said about @PatrickMahomes, but what ppl miss is that they are good in the moment bc they are GOOD all the time with the little things!!!!
Watching Jayden yesterday – always has a plan, makes the right play when…
— Kurt Warner (@kurt13warner) January 13, 2025
“I know Jayden Daniels has been great in the moment, same thing we have said about Patrick Mahomes, but what ppl miss is that they are good in the moment bc they are GOOD all the time with the little things!!!!” Warner said.
“Watching Jayden yesterday – always has a plan, makes the right play when things aren’t there, has good tech & understanding of timing, understands he needs an answer vs pressure,” Warner continued. “The great ones do the routine things right so they find themselves in those moments often & then they handle the moments well bc their NORMAL sustains them at all times!!”
Entering the season, there was a lot of pressure on the No. 2 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. However, Daniels is as advertised so far.
This season, Daniels was the ninth-best quarterback in the league, according to PFN’s QB+ metric, where we assign a letter grade to every quarterback performance and factor in a number of stats such as success rate when pressured, third-down conversion rate, pocket production, and clutch performance.
Daniels ranked just ahead of, you guessed it, Mahomes.
Eagles vs. Commanders Game Preview
- Location: Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia
- Time: 3 p.m. ET
- Date: Jan. 26, Sunday
- Channel: Fox/Fox Deportes
With one more win, Daniels can become the first rookie quarterback to start in the Super Bowl. Daniels will be the sixth rookie QB to start in the Conference Championship Round; the prior five went 0-5 and performed disastrously.
Including the playoffs, Daniels ranks first in EPA per dropback when blitzed (0.36). While still effective against standard pass rushes, his EPA per dropback drops to 0.10 (13th) in those situations.
During this playoff run, Daniels became the first rookie QB in NFL history to record 275 passing yards and 50 rushing yards in a playoff win, the first rookie to beat a No. 1 seed since Joe Flacco in 2008, and the third rookie QB to win two road playoff games (joining Flacco and Mark Sanchez).
Now, Daniels will face an Eagles defense that blitzes at the second-lowest rate of any team this season, including playoffs. During their two regular-season matchups, Daniels punished the Eagles’ blitz, producing an incredible 1.03 EPA (Expected Points Added) per dropback and 14.5 yards per attempt when blitzed.
Philadelphia only blitzed him on 14 of his 84 dropbacks (17%) in those games. Against their non-blitz pass rush, Daniels was far less effective, averaging a modest -0.02 EPA per dropback.
Saquon Barkley had significant success against Washington. In their two matchups, Barkley rushed for 451 yards and four touchdowns, averaging an impressive 5.4 yards per carry.
However, the Commanders found a way to limit Barkley in Week 16 after Jalen Hurts left the game in the first quarter, forcing Kenny Pickett to step in. Over the final three quarters, Barkley managed just 41 rushing yards on 22 attempts. Before Hurts’ injury, Barkley had been averaging over 7.7 yards per carry against Washington.
If Hurts is limited by his left leg injury, the Commanders could focus on loading up against Barkley to contain the Eagles’ rushing attack. By committing additional resources to stop Barkley, they might aim to force Hurts to rely more on his passing game, testing his mobility and effectiveness with the injury.
The Eagles have leaned heavily on Barkley and Hurts’ rushing abilities to generate offense in the playoffs. Through two games, 70.9% of their total yards have come on the ground.
The Commanders will play in the NFC Championship Game for the first time since 1991. Only the Browns, who last appeared in a Conference Championship Game in 1989, endured a longer drought.
Washington went 4-13 (.235) last year, marking the fourth-worst win percentage in the season prior to making a Conference Championship appearance, trailing only the 2017 Jaguars (0.188), 2006 Saints (0.188), and 1967 Oilers (0.214).
The Eagles lost two games in September and have lost one game since — at Washington in Week 16 after Hurts exited early with a concussion. In that loss, Philadelphia became the first team to score 21 points in the first quarter in a losing effort since the 2019 Texans (during the Divisional Round on the road against the Chiefs).
PFN’s Playoff Predictor gives the Eagles a 61.8% chance of winning this game while the Commanders have 38.2% odds.
