After a tough loss to the Kansas City Chiefs last week, the Cincinnati Bengals (0-2) hope to right the ship Monday night when the team hosts the Washington Commanders (1-1) at Paycor Stadium. Kickoff is set for 8:15 p.m. ET.
The Bengals have a 5-5-1 all-time record against Washington. When the two teams met last in 2020, Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow suffered a season-ending torn ACL in Cincinnati’s 20-9 loss.
Washington’s football team has gone through many changes of identity the past few years. The team finally settled on a new name, the Commanders, and hopes it has finally found its quarterback.
Washington has started a different quarterback in Week 1 each of the past eight seasons. But this year the Commanders acquired Jayden Daniels with the No. 2 overall pick in the draft.
So who is Daniels, the Commanders’ new quarterback? Here is what you should know.
LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels won the Heisman Trophy
Like Burrow, Daniels found great success as quarterback of the Louisiana State University Tigers. After transferring from Arizona State, Daniels transformed his game with a mix of passing and running skills.
In the 2023 season, Daniels scored 50 touchdowns – 40 of them passing and 10 rushing – and led the NCAA with 4,946 total yards (3,812 yards passing, 1,134 yards rushing). He also set the FBS single-season record for passer rating with 208.0.
Daniels won the Heisman Trophy as college football’s most outstanding player, beating out Oregon quarterback Bo Nix and Ohio State wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. He was the third LSU player to win the honor, following Burrow in 2019 and halfback Billy Cannon in 1959.
“They said I was too skinny, so I added weight. They said I relied on my legs a little bit too much, so I went to work to complete all those passes and have the season that I had, so I thank everybody out there,” Daniels said in his Heisman acceptance speech. “And they said I was too quiet, so I became more vocal, I stepped out of my comfort zone and now I’m here today.”
Jayden Daniels was almost too small to play high school football
Daniels, age 23, was born near San Bernardino, California. He played football at Cajon High School, setting local records with 211 touchdowns and 17,642 yards. He led his team to its first California Interscholastic Federation championship in 30 years.
The Washington Post reported that before his freshman year, when he was 14, Daniels needed a waiver to play varsity football because the league required a player to be 15 otherwise. The first pediatrician refused to sign the waiver, fearing that because of his size – 5-foot-11 and 125 pounds – he would get hurt. Another doctor signed off, allowing him to play, but his size has always been a concern.
Jayden Daniels rushed for 2 touchdowns in his NFL debut
Daniels, now 6-foot-4 and 210 pounds, scored two touchdowns with his legs in his NFL debut with the Commanders in Week 1, a 37-20 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The rookie quarterback didn’t do much in the passing game, going 17 for 24 with 184 passing yards and no passing TDs or interceptions. But his scrambling ability kept plays alive. He rushed 16 times for 88 yards and the two scores.
Last week’s 21-18 win over the New York Giants was the first victory for Daniels and the Commanders’ new head coach, Dan Quinn.
The Commanders won without scoring a touchdown. Kicker Austin Seibert accounted for all the team’s points with seven field goals. Daniels did enough to get the win, though, going 23 for 29 with 226 yards passing and 44 rushing yards.
“He just continues to show poise through the ups and downs of the game and being a young quarterback,” Washington receiver Olamide Zaccheaus told ESPN. “He was actually laughing. I love that; just being himself.”
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Who is Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels? Get to know the rookie
