Tom Brady has seen his share of extraordinary players during his legendary career, but when the seven-time Super Bowl champion compares a rookie quarterback to Tiger Woods in his prime, it’s a moment worth paying attention to.
On his podcast, Brady described Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels’ confidence and poise under pressure as traits that separate him from the rest — qualities reminiscent of Woods’ iconic performance at the 1997 Masters.
Tom Brady Makes Bold Jayden Daniels Comparison
“Even though Jayden Daniels is just a rookie, he has that poise and confidence. Imagine… a young Tiger Woods,” Brady said. “He had never proven on the big stage that he was ready for those big moments in the Masters in ’97, but he had proven that to himself in all those junior amateurs that he won. He didn’t care who he was playing. It was him versus him.”
Him vs. Him
– @TomBrady pic.twitter.com/YOROxoe9hU
— LSU Football (@LSUfootball) January 23, 2025
For Daniels, it’s been a season defined by one word: transformation. The Commanders are no longer a team mired in mediocrity. Thanks to his rookie sensation, they’ve become one of the league’s most exciting stories and a real threat to win the Super Bowl.
Commanders’ Historic Turnaround
When Daniels arrived in Washington as the No. 2 overall pick, few expected him to almost single-handedly take them from being one of the worst teams in the league to a playoff contender. Just a year ago, the Commanders had a 4-13 record, marking the fourth-worst win percentage in the season before making a Conference Championship Game appearance, trailing only the 2017 Jacksonville Jaguars (0.188), 2006 New Orleans Saints (0.188), and 1967 Houston Oilers (0.214).
This season, Washington flipped the script, finishing with a 12-5 record—its best since 1991, the year the organization last won the Super Bowl.
A Rookie Season for the Ages
Daniels’ impact has been seismic and he’s already shown that he’s a big-game player. In his first playoff game, he lead the Commanders to a 26-23 victory over Tom Brady’s former team, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, in the Wild Card Round.
This was Washington’s first playoff win since Jan. 7, 2006, when it also beat Tampa Bay 17-10.
The rookie followed that up a week later by beating the top-seeded Detroit Lions, becoming the first rookie quarterback in NFL history to record 275 passing yards and 50 rushing yards in a playoff game.
Those wins placed Daniels in elite company, as he’s now just the third rookie quarterback to win two road playoff games, joining Joe Flacco (2008) and Mark Sanchez (2009). Further, he became the first rookie to defeat a No. 1 seed in the postseason since Flacco.
Daniels’ regular-season numbers only add to his historic rookie campaign. He threw for 3,568 yards and 25 touchdowns while rushing for 891 yards and six scores. His dual-threat abilities made him one of the league’s most dangerous players, earning him an 85.7 score in PFN’s QB+ metric — ninth-best among all quarterbacks this season.
Chasing History
Now, Daniels is attempting to become the first rookie QB to lead a team to the Super Bowl. Washington is the ultimate Cinderella story, and PFN’s model gives the Commanders a 38.2% chance of defeating the Philadelphia Eagles and a 16.7% chance of hoisting the Lombardi Trophy.
Win or lose on Sunday, Daniels has already delivered Washington a season for the ages. His poise, leadership, and electrifying play have rejuvenated a franchise that had been adrift for decades. He’s forcing the football world to notice.
