Current:Home > ScamsJayden Daniels showcases dual-threat ability to keep Commanders running strong -PrestigeTrade
Jayden Daniels showcases dual-threat ability to keep Commanders running strong
View
Date:2025-04-15 07:16:05
LANDOVER, Md. — Cleveland Browns linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah will see his outstretched hand reaching for Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels in his dreams this week.
Instead of taking down the rookie signal-caller, Owusu-Kormaoah let Daniels escape – again.
Daniels juked Owusu-Koramoah, who had a free run at him and started sprinting effortlessly up the right sideline. He took advantage of two more Browns defenders who took bad angles and breezed past them. Daniels was eventually pushed out of bounds after a gain of 34 yards to convert a fourth-and-3 Washington faced in the first half on their way to a 34-13 drubbing of the Browns on Sunday.
“I got to find a way to get that sack on the ground there in the first half, that kind of sticks with me a little bit,” Owusu-Koramoah said.
Daniels, the reigning Heisman Trophy winner and second overall pick in the 2024 draft, passed his way to NFC Rookie of the Month honors. His legs were the engine that drove the Commanders' offensive operation Sunday. He rushed for more yards (88) in his Week 1 debut against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but his 82 yards on 11 attempts yielded 7.5 yards per carry, the best for Daniels in his fifth career game.
All things Commanders: Latest Washington Commanders news, schedule, roster, stats, injury updates and more.
On a different play, Owusu-Koramoah and safety Grant Delpit had a free shot at Daniels, but the quarterback simply backpedaled and let the two Browns defenders run into each other. Daniels spilled out to his right and ran up to the line of scrimmage and fired a bomb downfield to wide receiver Terry McLaurin for a 66-yard gain.
"I was just playing football. I’m kind of just reacting to everything that they’re doing," Daniels said. "I was able to get outside the pocket a couple times, scramble a couple times. So I think after hitting that scramble drill to Terry, I think that kind of put them on high alert like, 'Hey, we have to stay closer to our man.' So I was able to get the corner on a couple runs."
That can be "demoralizing" for opposing defenses, Commanders head coach Dan Quinn said. Quinn called the Commanders' offense "grimy" to start the contest. Daniels admitted to wanting some throws back.
After Daniels' big play to McLaurin, Owusu-Koramoah baited the signal-caller into a goal-line interception – the rookie's second pick thrown in as many weeks. Daniels finished 14-for-25 for 238 passing yards and a touchdown on the heels of a historic start to his career by completing 82.1% of his passes, the highest mark in a four-game stretch for any quarterback ever.
"He processes quickly," Quinn said. "'All right, this is how they're going to go, then this is how we're going to play.'"
That's exactly how Daniels wound up with his touchdown pass. He scrambled out of bounds for 3 yards on the previous play and realized Browns defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz had his unit in man coverage.
"I was turning back around and I said, 'Man, let’s take a shot' to (offensive coordinator) Kliff (Kingsbury)," Daniels said, "and he called the play."
That involved wideout Dyami Brown beating his man down the sideline. Daniels floated in a perfect ball for the 41-yard score, and it was a reminder of why his arrival has been prophetic for the Commanders, 4-1 for the first time since 2008.
Daniels is the first player in NFL history to have more than 1,000 passing yards and 250 rushing yards in his first five career games. The LSU product's right arm will always be the headline. Even when that part of his game wasn't at its best, Daniels found a way to be the difference for his team.
veryGood! (55)
Related
- Intellectuals vs. The Internet
- Stock market today: Asian shares mostly rise to start a week full of earnings, Fed meeting
- Numerous law enforcement officers shot in Charlotte, North Carolina, police say
- Britney and Jamie Spears settlement avoids long, potentially ugly and revealing trial
- The Daily Money: Spending more on holiday travel?
- Book excerpt: I Cheerfully Refuse by Leif Enger
- Horoscopes Today, April 28, 2024
- Over 80,000 pounds of deli meat recalled across multiple states due to lacking inspection
- Hackers hit Rhode Island benefits system in major cyberattack. Personal data could be released soon
- Chiefs, Travis Kelce agree to two-year extension to make him highest-paid TE in NFL
Ranking
- South Korea's acting president moves to reassure allies, calm markets after Yoon impeachment
- Prince Harry to return to London for Invictus Games anniversary
- First container ship arrives at Port of Baltimore since Key Bridge collapse: Another milestone
- Funeral services are held for a Chicago police officer fatally shot while heading home from work
- Trump's 'stop
- Jason Kelce joining ESPN's 'Monday Night Countdown' pregame coverage, per report
- Kate Middleton and Prince William Celebrate 13th Wedding Anniversary With Never-Before-Seen Photo
- Growing wildfire risk leaves states grappling with how to keep property insurers from fleeing
Recommendation
Can Bill Belichick turn North Carolina into a winner? At 72, he's chasing one last high
A Colorado woman was reported missing on Mother’s Day 2020. Her death was just ruled a homicide
GOP leaders still can’t overcome the Kansas governor’s veto to enact big tax cuts
Trump and DeSantis, once GOP rivals, meet in South Florida to talk about 2024 election
Global Warming Set the Stage for Los Angeles Fires
Kim and Penn Holderness Reveal Why They Think His ADHD Helped Them Win The Amazing Race
Where is the Kentucky Derby? What to know about Churchill Downs before 2024 race
Shark attacks and seriously injures British tourist in the Caribbean as friends fight off the predator