NFL News NFL News, Reports and Updates
Jayden Daniels didn’t look much like the quarterback that electrified college football last season and won a Heisman Trophy. For such an exciting player, what we saw in his NFL debut was pretty dull.
The Washington Commanders got little going on offense, but that was partially due to a hyper conservative game plan. Daniels looked like a rookie in his first NFL game and the Commanders fell to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 37-20. Daniels was 17 of 24 for 184 yards and rushed for 88 yards. It was a perfectly respectable debut, even if it was unspectacular.
It’s not easy to play quarterback as a rookie in the NFL, no matter how easy C.J. Stroud made it look last season. Caleb Williams didn’t even break 100 yards in his debut in what looked like a good matchup against the Tennessee Titans. Bo Nix struggled at times in his Denver Broncos debut. Daniels wasn’t bad but the player who made several big plays a game at LSU last season didn’t get much going.
Daniels’ first pass wasn’t even officially a pass. He rushed a throw and threw it wildly to the back coming out of the backfield, it was a backwards pass and officially a lateral and a fumble. Washington recovered. Passing it backwards on his first attempt set the tone for most of the Commanders’ passing plan on Sunday.
The Commanders came into the game clearly focused on a short passing game, to get the ball out quick likely due to a shaky offensive line. There was no real question about whether Daniels should start from Week 1 on, but he’s not in a great situation because of the line. It’s just something Washington hopes to manage. It also means that the offense will be limited until the point in which they feel comfortable opening things up a little.
Daniels wasn’t bad. It wasn’t Daniels’ fault that kicker Cade York missed two field goals. The helped the Buccaneers open up a 23-7 lead during the third quarter, which put Daniels in a tough spot. Daniels didn’t play poorly, he just didn’t make many plays other than his numerous…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/jayden-daniels-doesnt-make-much-happen-in-a-lackluster-nfl-debut-233209546.html
Author : Yahoo Sports
Publish date : 2024-09-08 23:32:09
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.
