Saturday saw some exciting play from rookie quarterbacks as while Caleb Williams looked solid in his small sample size, Washington Commanders signal-caller Jayden Daniels looked like a star in his preseason debut. There was specifically one play that stood out to Commanders head coach Dan Quinn that compared Daniels to the hit movie “Top Gun” starring Tom Cruise.
It actually would end up being Daniels' first NFL completion which was when he was facing a third down and six yards to go where he threw a beauty of a ball to Dyami Brown for a 46-yard gain. Before the ball was snapped though, Daniels would audible to create the play giving vibes of the 1980s film to Quinn according to NFL.com.
“I thought of Top Gun,” Quinn said. “‘Do I have permission to buzz the tower? No ghost rider, the pattern is full.' So, I think on that one he wanted to ask for forgiveness and not permission, and then throw an absolute dime over the top to Dyami to go. It was a really cool play. I think it probably illustrates for him the awareness and checks and things that go into it. He did not ask for permission, so he went ahead and buzzed the tower anyway.”
Jayden Daniels goes through the audible that led to big Commanders play
Hopefully it is a sign of things to come for Washington which has been looking for steady quarterback play since Kirk Cousins as in the preseason debut, Daniels threw for 45 yards while just completing two passes out of three attempts in a small sample size. Still, the long play is something to look out for in the foreseeable future as it was revealed by the 23-year old that Daniels would gain that confidence through Commanders offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury.
“Yeah. I mean it's just something throughout practice, throughout the time I've been here that (offensive coordinator) Kliff (Kingsbury) was like, ‘Hey, if you don't like this look, check it,' ” Daniels said. “So, they came out in a certain look and we were running a play, I didn't like it so I just checked it.”
Jayden Daniels described as “calm and collected” during preseason debut
Another perspective of that play was revealed from Washington offensive lineman Sam Cosmi who spoke during the broadcast of the game. He spoke about how Daniels made a “check mid-play” and that for his overall performance, the rookie was “calm and collected” and “really impressive” according to The Washington Post's Nicki Jhabvala.
“He made a check mid-play,” Cosmi said. “It turned out to be a big gain. … We bunkered down and really went in there. He was calm and collected, which is what you want to see, and it was really impressive. We all sat on the sideline and we were like, ‘Dang, that was really fun.' So, I think everybody should be very excited just from that little sneak peek right there. I know I am..I think we got a dude back there.”
Daniels looks to see more preseason action next Saturday when the Commanders takes on the Miami Dolphins in preparation for the regular season opener on Sunday, Sept. 8 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
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