3 tricky conundrums the Commanders must solve in Week 3 at the Bengals

Commanders' plan with Noah Brown

One of the most exciting skills Jayden Daniels showed off in college was his remarkable accuracy on deep throws. So far, we have not seen that in his two-game NFL career.

The fact that he missed an open Terry McLaurin deep in Week 1 at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers isn’t a problem. The fact that it was one of just two or three deep shots the quarterback has taken through his first two games represents a much bigger issue.

There are plenty of reasons not to fling the ball deep all game long. They are low-percentage throws. When you are trying to give a rookie signal-caller a confidence boost, you usually want him to make easier throws with a higher likelihood of success.

You also have to worry about pass protection. Deep shots require the quarterback to hold the ball longer. The Washington Commanders' pass protection looks improved over last season, but it is still an area of concern. Kliff Kingsbury needs to stretch the field, especially now that he has demonstrated a strong running game which should free up space behind the safeties.

Washington’s deep passing game has been almost entirely limited to short passes to Austin Ekeler or Brian Robinson Jr. through two weeks. Those are great plays, and the veteran free-agent signing looks to be thriving in a more specialized role. But they can’t be the only chunk-passing plays this team relies on.

Daniels hit Zach Ertz on a deep out against the New York Giants, but he fluttered the throw and it took a magnificent effort from the tight end to prevent an interception. McLaurin can run deep routes. He can run anything. That’s sort of the problem. The Commanders can’t keep sending him deep because they need him for third-down slants and occasional bubble screens to draw the defense up.

Noah Brown is a different type of receiver.

He is an excellent deep threat. We saw it late against the Giants. Brown made a crucial reception in the deep middle that helped set up the winning field goal. Dyami Brown may be able to provide this deep threat as well, but after just one game, it looks like Daniels and the new arrival may have a rapport.

The Commanders finally have a deep threat to complement McLaurin’s play all over the field. They just need to test out the Cincinnati Bengals’ corners at least three or four times on deeper shots to Brown to take advantage of it.