Daniels and Commanders Shine In Victory Over Bengals (9-23-24)

By: Jaden Golding

Headline Photo Credit: Emilee Fails-Washington Commanders

Cincinnati, OH- Washington second overall pick Jayden Daniels threw two touchdowns and ran one in himself, leading the Washington Commanders in a 38-33 offensive shootout victory over the Joe Burrow-led Cincinnati Bengals on Monday Night Football. 

Daniels was incredible last night, completing 21 of 23 passes for 254 yards and an NFL rookie record with a completion percentage of 91.3%. On top of the excellent display of passing from the rookie quarterback, Daniels continued to use his legs rushing for 39 yards on 12 carries and a touchdown. The Commanders have not punted the ball since week one against the Buccaneers, and Washington (2-1) scored on every possession last night outside of two kneel-downs (one before halftime and one to end the game). 

Cincinnati (0-3) has now dropped its first three contests of the season and now has important questions to answer. This Bengals group was expected to contend with the Kansas City Chiefs to represent the AFC, but now they are falling in danger of having a long season. Burrow had another great week, throwing for 324 passing yards and three touchdowns, and superstar wideout Ja’Marr Chase finally broke out with six receptions for 118 yards and two touchdowns. The only problem for the Bengals was their defense couldn’t keep Washington off the field, exposing some problems that the unit has up front with their depth and at the cornerback position. Funny enough, the Commanders have the same issues with interior/edge and secondary play. I’ll get to that in a little bit. 

Terry McLaurin had the big performance that Washington fans were looking for last night. McLaurin had an opportunity in the first quarter, where he ran past a slipping Bengals defender but Daniels overthrew him. No worries, Daniels found him on a 55-yard strike where Terry split the two Bengals defenders to get behind them for the diving grab. Finally, the memorable catch of the night, in the fourth quarter up by five points with 2:10 on third-and-seven. Daniels recognized cover zero and knew he’d take a hit with single coverage across the board. He threw a beautiful dime to McLaurin before he even made his break to the outside, connecting for the 27-yard dagger touchdown. Scary Terry finished with four receptions, 100 receiving yards, and a touchdown.

Luke McCaffery had his best performance of his young career, catching three balls for 44 yards with all three coming in clutch moments. Noah Brown and tight-end Zach Ertz made crucial catches when Daniels needed them to get open. 

Before leaving the game with a concussion, Austin Ekeler was lethal, running for a 24-yard touchdown, catching two balls for 22 yards, and had a kickoff return for 62 yards. Will see if Ekeler clears concussion protocol for Sunday’s game against Arizona. 

The Commanders’ offensive line had one of its best performances that I’ve seen in the past 10 years, each of the starting five linemen had a PPF grade of 70.0 and higher. They were physical and allowed Daniels the time to go through his reads and make throws. Tackle Trent Scott had Washington’s first big-man touchdown since 1984. 

Finally, Washington’s defense. The unit continued to struggle last night getting off the field on third downs and stopping big plays from happening. The Commanders’ defensive line continues to struggle with consistent pressure and preventing running backs from gashing through to the next levels. Pro ballers Jonathan Allen and Daron Payne are off to a rough start in the 2024 season combining for five tackles, no sacks, QB hits, or tackles for loss. That cannot happen and they need more from those two. Is it all their fault, absolutely not. The secondary play continues to perform below par and can’t seem to put themselves in a position to make plays on the ball. Defensive coordinator Joe Whitt Jr. will have to figure out some way, maybe to simplify things for the secondary but also try out different combinations to allow our playmakers on defense to play physically and freely. 

Up Next:

Commanders head west to play the Arizona Cardinals (1-2) at 4:25 p.m. Kliff Kingsbury will face his former team for the first time since his exit back in 2023.