Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels won the battle between former LSU Heisman winners against Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow.
Washington’s eye-opening 38-33 “Monday Night Football” triumph over Cincinnati also shifted expectations for what the Commanders can accomplish in 2024.
Here are five takeaways from an exciting Monday nighter.
Commanders are NFC East contenders
Washington didn’t just go toe-to-toe with Cincinnati, who needed a win on Monday after starting the season 0-2. The Commanders outplayed the Bengals for four quarters.
The offense scored touchdowns on its first four possessions (excluding an end-of-half kneel-down in the second quarter), and the defense forced the Bengals to settle for field goals as the Commanders built a 28-13 lead and didn’t look back.
The idea that Washington, which went 4-13 last season, is a contender to win its division isn’t as far-fetched as it might seem.
Have you seen the NFC East play this year? The Cowboys can’t stop anyone. Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni is just keeping Bill Belichick’s seat warm, and the Giants are getting tricked into thinking Daniel Jones is good because of Malik Nabers.
The division is up for grabs, and based on the way the Commanders played on Monday, it could be theirs.
Jayden Daniels is Offensive Rookie of the Year front-runner
The Commanders’ rise has everything to do with their stellar rookie, who set an NFL rookie record with a 91.3 percent completion percentage (21-of-23) in the win. The 2023 Heisman winner threw for 254 yards (11 yards per attempt), scored three touchdowns and arguably most impressively, slid at the end of one of his 12 carries.
He threw a pair of beautiful deep balls to wide receiver Terry McLaurin, who had four receptions, 100 yards and his first touchdown of the season on Daniels’ best throw of the night.
Facing pressure for one of the rare times on Monday, Daniels launched the ball to McLaurin, who ran under it along the sideline in the end zone and caught it to give Washington an insurmountable lead.
