Jayden Daniels competitiveness
The competitive fire burns within Jayden Daniels. It oozes from him whether things are going well or not. The signal-caller experienced both ends of this spectrum in Week 15 against the New Orleans Saints.
Daniels had things almost all his way in the first half. The Washington Commanders were in complete control and looked like a comfortable victory was in their immediate future. That feeling didn't last.
Spencer Rattler's introduction to the starting quarterback job at the expense of Jake Haener and some exceptional defensive pressure led New Orleans to make a real fight of it after the break. Daniels responded accordingly, dragging his team through adversity and refusing to accept their concerning predicament.
If others had met their end of the bargain with the same fire, they might not have sweated things out.
The offensive line, in particular, was not at the races and Daniels suffered greatly as a result. But the player never backed down despite pressure and sacks coming almost constantly.
Jayden Daniels did just enough
It was a heart-stopping end to the contest. Jayden Daniels spurned some late opportunities to ice the game. But in the end, the Commanders scraped through by the narrowest of margins.
The New Orleans Saints opted for the two-point conversion try to win the game with no time remaining. Washington's defense held firm, which represented their late-season get-out-of-jail-free card in no uncertain terms.
Daniels had a solid outing overall. He missed Terry McLaurin on what would have been a hat-trick of touchdowns in the fourth quarter. Aside from that, it was relatively pleasing from the signal-caller.
More importantly, the Commanders got the win. They confirmed a winning record and enhanced their playoff prospects along the way. It was tighter than they would have liked, which made Daniels' performance all the more vital when push came to shove.
Daniels got the job done. It wasn't pretty, but the result far outweighed the performance at this late stage of the season. Especially for a team gunning to make the postseason.