5 major observations from Jayden Daniels' performance at the Buccaneers

After a sensational offseason for Jayden Daniels, the Washington Commanders' new face of the franchise made his regular-season debut at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Impressing in the summer was all well and good. Doing it in a competitive setting versus such an experienced team was a different matter entirely.

Confidence is exceptionally high around Daniels. He's got the tools needed to become successful, even if it might take a little bit of time. Taking the rough with the smooth is crucial from a fan standpoint, so a trip to the Buccaneers represented the perfect measuring stick to kick-off the campaign.

Daniels is riding on the crest of a wave heading into such a difficult challenge. As it turned out, a solid performance from the first-year pro was not enough to prevent the Commanders from falling to a convincing defeat on the road to begin their new era.

With this in mind, here are seven critical observations from Daniels' performance at Raymond James Stadium against the Buccaneers in Week 1.

Major observations from Commanders QB Jayden Daniels at the Buccaneers

Jayden Daniels' early jitters

One could forgive Jayden Daniels for feeling the tension. This was his first NFL regular-season game and expectations for the signal-caller are through the roof. He's got a cool, calm demeanor, but there were some early jitters as expected to formally begin his league journey.

Daniels missed a couple of easy throws to begin with. Things were happening faster than anything he's experienced previously. These errors didn't lead to any significant damage, but the Tampa Bay Buccaneers were able to get up right away thanks to their improved continuity after bringing almost every established star back for another go-around this offseason.

It didn't take long for Daniels to settle down. But the Commanders were playing catch-up to further complicate matters - something that led to their eventual demise.