The Washington Commanders came away with a 38-33 win over the Cincinnati Bengals on Monday Night Football, and quarterback Jayden Daniels turned in an incredible performance, showing up on the big stage and making a ton of clutch plays, including what was essentially the game-winner to Terry McLaurin. Daniels credited his parents for raising him to be able to show up in those big moments.

“I just give a testament on how I was raised,” Jayden Daniels said, via SportsCenter. “Should out to my mom and dad for instilling that in me.”

It was a historic performance for Daniels, who completed 21-of-23 passes for 254 yards and two touchdowns while adding 39 yards and a touchdown on the ground. The Commanders did not punt in the game, and have not punted since Week 1 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Despite not getting in the end zone against the New York Giants in Week 2, this is still a very encouraging performance overall from a rookie quarterback.

If Daniels can sustain anywhere close to this level of play, the NFC East seems wide open. The Commanders already have a win over the New York Giants who are 1-2, and the Dallas Cowboys sit at 1-2 as well with many clear flaws on that roster. The Philadelphia Eagles are very talented and sit at 2-1, but have showed cracks in each of their three games as well.

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Commanders look to build off of upset win over Bengals

Coming out of this game against the Bengals, the Commanders will look to build some momentum. Next week, Daniels and the Commanders will go on the road to play the Arizona Cardinals, a talented team, but a beatable team.

Games after that are against the Cleveland Browns, Baltimore Ravens, Carolina Panthers and Chicago Bears. Those are not given wins for the Commanders, but for the most part, they are winnable if Daniels is able to keep playing well.

The next game against the Cardinals will be an interesting test, as the Commanders' roster is likely in the same range talent wise. The matchup between Daniels and Kyler Murray is an intriguing one. Murray's old head coach, Kliff Kingsbury, is calling the plays for Daniels as the offensive coordinator for the Commanders. Kingsbury got the best out of Daniels on Monday Night Football against the Bengals, and hopefully he can continue to do so throughout the rest of the season to develop Washington's potential franchise quarterback.