My esteemed colleague Thomas Boswell made the case that Jayden Daniels running 16 times in his NFL debut was “coaching malfeasance,” and many commenters agreed. Sure, seeing the franchise quarterback exposed to potential hits can be troubling — and a sober reminder of Washington’s last great hope, who shined bright and burned out fast.
By Sam Fortier
But a deeper look at Daniels’s running plays during the Commanders’ 37-20 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday should soothe some concerns.
Offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury’s play-calling didn’t overexpose his quarterback, and Daniels — whose reputation for recklessness can be overstated — mostly protected himself, even though it was disconcerting to see his helmet pop off twice.
Let’s start here: Two rushes were technicalities. One was a kneel before halftime, and another was a swing pass that went backward and was therefore labeled a fumbled rush.
Of his 14 actual runs, seven were scrambles.
Scrambling seven times in one game is a lot. It happens only a few times each season. But in his NFL debut, against a blitz-heavy defense, it made sense that Daniels would lean on his legs as an escape hatch. If he played the game again, he probably would “let it rip” a few times instead of taking off, Coach Dan Quinn said.
“We’d love to see him remain a passer first, and I think it’s going to come with more experience,” he added.
Now let’s look at the seven designed runs. Three were zone-read keepers, a concept Daniels has excelled at since Pop Warner, and perhaps surprisingly Kingsbury ran him four times in short-yardage situations.
The first one worked beautifully: Daniels faked a handoff and outran a linebacker to convert on fourth and one.
The second did, too: He took a zone-read keeper basically untouched into the end zone.
The last two, back-to-back at the goal line, led to more contact.
Going forward, the Commanders will have to grapple with the risks and rewards of using Daniels in short-yardage situations, especially near the goal line, where he could take big hits. But Arizona State and LSU used Daniels similarly; he even regularly sneaked successfully.
Kingsbury’s most curious calls were two runs that seemed targeted inside, where Daniels wouldn’t have much space.
The first was on first down early in the third quarter. Daniels pulled the ball and ran between the tackles for two yards.
The second was early in the fourth quarter. Daniels cut outside and got down before he could be hit.
Those concepts seem better suited to a heavier quarterback, such as Philadelphia’s Jalen Hurts, and may have bothered Quinn.
“We certainly don’t want the [runs] that are inside and where his helmet gets knocked around,” he said after the game. “Those are things that we can work through, for sure.”
In the end, Daniels took four hits while running — three on designed runs and one on a scramble that was flagged for being helmet to helmet. He was also hit twice on sacks in the pocket.
It’s easy to understand the concerns. It’s valid to have PTSD from Robert Griffin III. But after a thorough review, the worry over Daniels is a bit overstated.
Huge home opener
In Sunday’s home opener, Quinn can get rid of the bad taste from Week 1 and also exorcise some demons. Under Coach Ron Rivera, Washington was 2-5-1 against the New York Giants and endured some humiliating losses, including last season against undrafted rookie quarterback Tommy DeVito.
This is Washington’s most winnable game of the season, according to Inpredictable, a sports betting analysis site. The Commanders are generally favored by about 2½ points.
They must stop Giants quarterback Daniel Jones, who, in his return from an ACL tear suffered last season, didn’t look good in a 28-6 loss to the Minnesota Vikings last week. But Jones has historically been outstanding against Washington, completing nearly 70 percent of his passes for 10 touchdowns and just three interceptions.
It’s important for the Commanders, in the first year of a rebuild, to prove they’re growing by ending the season above the Giants in the standings.
Commanders remember 9/11
Quinn gave a presentation to his team Wednesday about the terrorist attacks 23 years ago because he knew many of his players were too young to remember them and wanted to emphasize “there are heroes among us every day.”
Daniels, who was born Dec. 18, 2000, was not yet a year old.
“Obviously, it was a tragedy,” the quarterback said. “From what I hear, it’s like, man, it was a crazy thing. My parents were telling me before that you could just walk up to your gate at the airport, stuff like that. But now me growing up, you see TSA, you see things like that. So it’s just a tragedy, and obviously everything that happened that day will never be forgotten.”
Injury report
Second-round defensive tackle Johnny Newton (foot) is “trending in the right way” and may make his debut Sunday, Quinn said. He didn’t practice Wednesday but will Thursday when the Commanders put on the pads.
Cornerback Emmanuel Forbes Jr. (thumb) is not expected to miss time, and tight end Zach Ertz (rest) did not practice Wednesday.
Noah Brown, the recently acquired wide receiver, is up to speed on the scheme and could debut Sunday as well, Quinn said.
