Current:Home > ContactJayden Daniels showcases dual-threat ability to keep Commanders running strong -WealthRoots Academy
Jayden Daniels showcases dual-threat ability to keep Commanders running strong
View
Date:2025-04-24 10:36:11
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! (4197)
Related
- Can Bill Belichick turn North Carolina into a winner? At 72, he's chasing one last high
- How Bianca Belair breaks barriers, honors 'main purpose' as WWE 2K24 cover star
- Rep. Nancy Mace's former chief of staff files to run against her in South Carolina
- Most Americans feel they pay too much in taxes, AP-NORC poll finds
- Don't let hackers fool you with a 'scam
- Rep. Nancy Mace's former chief of staff files to run against her in South Carolina
- NFL championship game picks: Who among Chiefs, Ravens, 49ers and Lions reaches Super Bowl 58?
- Khloe Kardashian's Son Tatum Bonds With Their Cat in Adorable Video
- South Korean president's party divided over defiant martial law speech
- Chiefs are in their 6th straight AFC championship game, and this is the 1st for the Ravens at home
Ranking
- DeepSeek: Did a little known Chinese startup cause a 'Sputnik moment' for AI?
- What's next for Bill Belichick as 2024 NFL head coaching vacancies dwindle?
- Maryland brothers charged in alleged lottery scheme that netted $3.5 million
- Hiker dies of suspected heart attack in Utah’s Zion National Park, authorities say
- Travis Hunter, the 2
- Charges against country singer Chris Young in Nashville bar arrest have been dropped
- Houthi attacks in the Red Sea are idling car factories and delaying new fashion. Will it get worse?
- Mexico confirms some Mayan ruin sites are unreachable because of gang violence and land conflicts
Recommendation
Travis Hunter, the 2
Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso withdraw from West Africa’s regional bloc as tensions deepen
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin expected to return to Pentagon Monday for first time since hospitalization
South Carolina deputy fatally shoots man after disturbance call
New Zealand official reverses visa refusal for US conservative influencer Candace Owens
Everything You Need To Enter & Thrive In Your Journaling Era
Channing Tatum Has a Magic Message for Fiancée Zoë Kravitz
Philippine troops kill 9 suspected Muslim militants, including 2 involved in Sunday Mass bombing