Jayden Daniels is looking to cement his status among the league's elite quarterbacks in 2025 after a historic rookie campaign.
The Washington Commanders finally have a franchise-caliber presence to spearhead a new era of prosperity. That brings a different type of pressure, but Daniels has the mentality and flawless demeanor to cope with ceiling-shattering expectations effectively.
This all starts with a potential banana skin home opener against the New York Giants. While very few are tipping Brian Daboll's squad to make waves, they boast an exceptional defensive front seven that will wreak havoc on almost any team if early momentum is generated.
Jayden Daniels tipped for a tough afternoon in Commanders' regular-season opener
Washington spent significant resources to enhance its protection in front of Daniels this offseason. That's extremely positive, but keeping Dexter Lawrence II, Brian Burns, Kayvon Thibodeaux, Abdul Carter, and Bobby Okereke quiet is an almost impossible task.
It's also a reason why Ryan Heckman from NFL Spin Zone predicted that the Commanders' game against the Giants will be decided on the ground. The analyst thought neither Daniels nor Russell Wilson would throw a touchdown pass at Northwest Stadium as the rushing attacks of both clubs take center stage.
"This game has the makings of one dominated by the ground. Last year, both the Commanders and Giants finished as a top-10 pass defense. Likewise, they also finished as a bottom-6 run defense. I think the Commanders will look to justify their trading of Brian Robinson and try to establish a healthy run with the rest of their back field led by Austin Ekeler. Do we see an early Jacory Croskey-Merritt breakout? Meanwhile, the Giants feature both Tyrone Tracy and Cam Skattebo early and often against a Commanders defense that allowed over 137 rushing yards per game in 2024."Ryan Heckman
This might be disappointing for fans who want to see a high-scoring affair to begin the campaign, but the result is all that matters. The Commanders needed a franchise record seven field goals from Austin Seibert to beat the Giants at home in Week 2 last season. It was a disjointed performance, but that result provided the catalyst for great things as the campaign wore on.
Daniels didn't get many preseason reps. His chemistry with Terry McLaurin was dented by the wideout's long contract standoff with the franchise. The Giants' defense is their strength, so the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year needs to be at the top of his game to pick up a much-needed victory.
If the Commanders triumph and Daniels doesn't throw a touchdown, that's fine. After all, the signal-caller is going to get more than his fair share of passing scores throughout the season anyway.