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TAMPA, Fla. — The NFL debut of Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels was disappointing to the extent that Washington took a 37-20 loss to the Buccaneers, but the game still offered a promising glimpse of how electric a playmaker the rookie quarterback will be.
“I grade myself hard,” Daniels said after the game. “We didn’t win. I’m a competitor. I like to win, but overall, it went well, pretty well.”
Daniels’ scrambling ability and speed were in full effect Sunday, as he rushed for 88 yards — fifth-most for any quarterback making his first career start in the Super Bowl era — and scored a pair of 1-yard touchdowns in the second half.
“I thought he got to fully express all the things that he has, using his legs, you know, being aggressive down the field,” Washington coach Dan Quinn said. “Like him, like a number of players tonight, there’s going to be a lot of takeaways and things that we’re going to like, things we want to improve on. But what I can tell you is we got one hell of a competitor in him. We’re just getting started with him and the guys.”
The draft’s second overall pick from LSU has already made an impression on his teammates, and not just for his athletic prowess.
“His ability to stay calm amongst adversity was very strong,” guard Sam Cosmi said. “I didn’t feel anything wavering or any panic or anything like that. There was a moment at the very end, we were in huddle during like a timeout and we kind of just looked at each other, like ‘Hey man, we (have) something special here.'”
The Bucs knew he was a dangerous threat going in.
“You go put on his scramble reel from LSU, and it’s kind of sickening,” co-defensive coordinator Kacy Rodgers said Thursday. “He’s (not) just getting 5, he’s getting 55. He is a problem when he decides to take off. He can make all the throws. You kind of see why he got drafted where he did. He’s going to be a tremendous young player.”
Daniels, 23, was a gifted runner at LSU — he rushed for 1,134 yards last year,…
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Publish date : 2024-09-09 02:15:43
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