Jayden Daniels’ blast! Commanders defeated Bengals in MNF!

Washington backup safety and special teamer Jeremy Reaves gestured to quarterback Jayden Daniels as he left the loud visiting locker room with headphones. He spoke two words.

No one in the locker room argued. He completed 21 of 23 passes for 254 yards and two touchdowns in a 38-33 win over the Bengals on “Monday Night Football.” Not after he threw a game-winning 27-yard touchdown to Terry McLaurin while being blitzed.

“I think he matured tonight,” McLaurin remarked. “I’m excited for him because seeing those throws boosts rookie confidence. I think his confidence is skyrocketing right now.”

Washington (2-1) has won two straight and scored on 14 straight drives without kneeling before Sunday’s game at Arizona. Daniels’ early-season play energized the Commanders. His three-game pass completion rate is 80.3%, averaging 6.2 air yards per attempt. He has thrown 662 yards and 2 TDs without an interception.

Washington coach Dan Quinn remarked, “He’s continuing to grow on the job.”

Daniels led a Week 2 winning field goal drive and tossed a touchdown on his final possession Monday night. Players have praised Daniels since working with him in spring.

Their faith in him has grown.

“The only word I can really say is hope,” guard Sam Cosmi said when asked how Daniels differs from his last four teammates. “I think. We trust.”

Despite the play clock ticking down, Daniels motioned to the sideline to call the play. His calmness impressed teammates.

“It’s shocking how composed he is, but not,” said Washington guard Nick Allegretti. “The situation is what it is. How will I proceed? Panic and destruction. He’s different. His predicament is what it is. Huddle 11 people. Call a play.

As a rookie at the hardest position in football, he’s composed. If he’s stressed, everyone tenses. He may not mean it, but his composure is the offense.”

Three fourth-down conversions were required of Daniels: two arm and one leg. Every time, he succeeded. Fourth-and-2 pass to youngster Luke McCaffrey for 30 yards set up Commanders’ first touchdown. A field goal followed a fourth-and-1 run early in the fourth quarter.

Washington led by five on a fourth-and-4 pass from the Cincinnati’s 39-yard line to Ertz with 4 minutes, 26 seconds left. It spanned 9 yards.

It’s a blessing that the coaches trust me to make a crucial play “Daniels remarked.

That may have been his first hallmark moment. Three plays later, facing an all-out blitz with a defender about to strike him, Daniels threw a 45-yard pass to McLaurin for a 27-yard score.

He told Kliff that he wanted the ball. Daniels delivered.

“When we needed it most, Jayden did a great job of taking a hit,” said McLaurin, who grabbed a 55-yard pass for another touchdown earlier in the game.

With all the big throws, Daniels may have to grapple with a teammate for his first touchdown. In the third quarter, backup tackle Trent Scott caught a 1-yard touchdown pass.

“I would want to saw [the ball] down the middle,” he remarked. I was nervous, ‘Just don’t drop the ball.

Daniels is astonished, but his teammates aren’t—Allen claimed he sees it “every day in practice”—.

I’m new to it, so yes “stated. “Knowing that what’s done in the dark will always come out, I keep working.