Jayden Daniels is returning to the Washington Commanders lineup tonight after missing last week’s loss at Kansas City and being knocked out of the game the prior week during a lopsided setback to the Dallas Cowboys.
His sophomore season has, predictably, not matched his rookie season … which many rate as the best first season for a National Football League quarterback in history. Daniels was magic last year, and his prowess led the Commanders all the way to the NFC Championship Game where they were downed by the eventual Super Bowl Champion Philadelphia Eagles.
This year, both Daniels and his Washington team are having problems. Defense was not the reason they advanced deep into the playoffs last season, it was all about Daniels and his dynamic play on offense. This creates a chasm in Washington results if Daniels is not performing at a level good enough to outscore the points allowed by the Commanders defense.
In the three games he missed this season with injuries, backup QB Marcus Mariota guided Dan Quinn’s team to one win and two losses. In the games Daniels has started in 2025, his record is two wins and three losses.
In other words, the Commanders are nothing special this year.
Tonight, they host the Seattle Seahawks who are special. Head Coach Mike Macdonald has developed a solid defense in his second year on the job, and his new quarterback, Sam Darnold, is performing this season like he did last year in Minnesota. Darnold, who was a third overall draft selection of the New York Jets in 2018, struggled with his initial team and subsequent stops with the Carolina Panthers and San Francisco 49ers.