Key numbers from Commanders' thrilling win at the Bengals in Week 3

At 1-1, there were plenty of questions around this Washington Commanders team. Can Jayden Daniels make big-time passes down the field? Is Terry McLaurin done? Can this offense finish in the red zone? Can the rookie quarterback slide? 

All those and more were answered on national television Monday night. The Commanders' offense put the league on notice with a thrilling 38-33 win at the Cincinnati Bengals. 

It was clear Kliff Kingsbury took Bengals cornerback Cam Taylor-Britt’s comments calling the Commanders a “nice college offense” to heart. Not only did McLaurin beat the defensive back for a 55-yard completion to set up a touchdown, but the Commanders put in a masterclass on how to run an offense. 

On numerous occasions, Daniels proved he is a franchise quarterback, none more so than on the final scoring drive for Washington. He guided the offense on a long drive, keeping the struggling defense off the field. The No. 2 pick overcame two false starts, a near-giveaway on a Zach Ertz fumble, and a 2nd-and-20. 

On 4th-and-4, Daniels yelled that he wanted to go for it, and he found Ertz for a nine-yard completion to keep the drive alive. Ice in his veins. 

Three plays later, on 3rd-and-7, with just over two minutes remaining, Daniels found McLaurin for a 27-yard touchdown while getting blasted to put the game away. The most improbable touchdown of the season with only a 10.3 percent completion probability according to Next Gen Stats.

You couldn’t write a better story if you tried. Let's get into the key numbers from the Commanders' Week 3 win against the Bengals on Monday Night Football.

Key numbers from the Commanders' win at the Bengals in Week 3

91.3: Jayden Daniels completed 91.3 percent of his passes, setting a new rookie record, besting fellow NFC East quarterback Dak Prescott. He had more total touchdowns than incompletions to officially announce himself on the NFL stage.

14: Outside of kneel downs, the Commanders have scored on their last 14 possessions, going back to their last drive against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 1. This is the first time in Tress Way’s career that he hasn’t had to punt in two consecutive games.

2: Trent Scott. That’s going to be your sports trivia night answer for years to come. The offensive tackle became the first player to catch a receiving touchdown from Daniels. He became only the second lineman to score a touchdown since the 2022 season.

0: The Commanders became the first team to have 0 turnovers and 0 punts in two consecutive games in the Super Bowl era. It was also the first game since 1940 where neither team had any turnovers or punts.

7.4: In the first two weeks of the season, many were doubting if Daniels could get the ball down the field at the professional level. Well, doubt no more.

Daniels went from having the second-lowest air yards to stick in Weeks 1 and 2 to having the third-highest air yards in Week 3. He also finished the game against the Bengals with an average of 7.4 air yards on completions, improving from 3.2 in Week 2 and 1.6 in Week 1.

100: After going 0-for-6 on touchdowns in the red zone against the New York Giants in Week 2, the Commanders scored touchdowns on all three of their red zone possessions against the Bengals. Washington also went 100% on fourth-down conversions with Daniels having a hand in all three.

5: The Commanders' defense continued to struggle. Over the first three weeks of the season, the opponent’s leading receiver (Mike Evans, Malik Nabers, and Ja'Marr Chase) combined for 21 receptions, 306 yards, and five receiving touchdowns.

If those were one player’s stats, they would have the third-most receptions, second-most receiving yards, and the most receiving touchdowns in the NFL. Chase finished the game with six receptions for 118 yards and two touchdowns, scoring on both Mike Sainristil and Benjamin St-Juste.

69: The Bengals ' defense was allowing 159.5 rushing yards per game coming into Week 3, so the expectation was Brian Robinson Jr. and the ground game would have a field day. That wasn’t the case, as the Commanders combined for only 69 rushing yards.

After Austin Ekeler, who made his mark with a 24-yard touchdown run and 62-yard kickoff return, left with a concussion in the third quarter, Robinson and Jeremy McNichols combined for only 11 rushing yards on six attempts for an anemic 1.83 yards per carry.

127.6: Over the first three weeks of the season, the Commanders' defense has allowed a passer rating of 127.6, which is the NFL's worst. They have given up nine passing touchdowns with zero interceptions. Combine this with the third-worst sack percentage, and you have a recipe for disaster.

3:18: Not to continue piling onto the defense, but they allowed the Bengals to score their last two touchdowns in a combined 3 minutes and 18 seconds of game time. If it wasn’t for Daniels and the offense taking more than seven minutes on their final scoring drive and coming away with a touchdown, this game could have gone in a different direction. 

At 2-1, the Commanders are sitting atop the NFC East, with a revenge game for Kingsbury coming up at the Arizona Cardinals. After taking down the 2020 No. 1 pick in Joe Burrow, can Daniels do the same against the 2019 top pick, Kyler Murray?

We'll find out next week.

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