Burgundy & Gold Reaction: Jayden Daniels Impact

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January 1, 2025

by David Earl

Washington 11 Win Season Goes Deep

For the fans who grew up during the golden era of Washington Redskins football and then witnessed the methodical teardown of a once proud franchise by one of the worst owners in all of sports, Dan Snyder, this season hits on a different level. During the first 12 years of Joe Gibbs as the Redskins head coach (1981-1992) their seasons amassed:

  • Eight 10-plus win seasons, including five being 11 or more wins
  • Earned trips into the playoffs 8 times with 4 trips to the Super Bowl, winning 3 of the 4
  • One losing season, while accumulating an overall .674 winning percentage

In comparison, Dan Snyder’s ownership is an example of business failure 101, in terms of  what not to do. We have talked at nauseam about just how toxic Snyder was, including the Rhiannon Walker story with The Athletic regarding the abuse of the cheerleaders, but let’s keep this to the football side of the conversation. In the 24 years of Snyder’s ownership of the franchise, the outcome was horrendous to be nice. The results were as follows:

  • Three 10-win seasons, with one of them coming the year Snyder bought the team
  • Earned six trips into the playoffs with only 2 total playoff wins
  • Record of 164-220-4, which equates to a .427 winning percentage, finishing 14 seasons with a losing record and four with a .500 record

The Dan Snyder effect resulted in two very different outcomes, where the Golden Era generation watched helplessly while the team was dismantled, to the younger generations who only knew the ineptitude of Snyder’s ownership. While both generations experienced some glimmer of hope together in Sean Taylor and quarterback Robert Griffin III, both have very different connections to this franchise. The experience of winning seasons and championships is what separates them so their emotional attachments are very different.

This 11-win season is a rallying point that is very unlike what was brought on by the defensive phenom Sean Taylor in the 2005 playoff win or the improbable 7-game win streak led by Griffin. Those seasons still had the black cloud of ownership overhead with the lingering doubts of that the success was sustainable. Today, we as a fanbase are rallying around not only new ownership and a front office without the thoughts of doom and gloom of the past but on the back of a rookie phenom in quarterback Jayden Daniels. Even the team name Commanders, which has been a point of contention since the day it was awkwardly revealed, has taken a backseat to this Washington team no one ever thought would be this productive. So what did we truly witness in Daniels’ rookie season?

Rookie Season Bar Set For Quarterbacks?

The early 2024 predictions showed Washington’s betting line for a 6-win season as the roster overall had many weaknesses. Even after Jayden Daniels was drafted, the outlook was grim overall, albeit with a high-upside rookie quarterback to build around. As fans, we can certainly attest better than most that the offensive line lacked a true left tackle, the wide receivers after Terry McLaurin were lucky to be the top 3 options on most rosters, and that defense was historically bad the season prior. Some additions were promising, such as linebacker Frankie Luvu, center Tyler Biadasz, and safety Jeremy Chinn, but the expectations were still tempered. What could a rookie quarterback do in this situation? Are we to expect anything more but growth and health out of Jayden Daniels? The rational fans had a good idea of what to reasonably expect as they hoped to come close to the bar C.J. Stroud set the year prior. We got more than expected. Here’s how each rookie season campaign compared:

Player  Rec  Comp %  Yards  TD   TD%  Int   Int%  Succ%  QB Rating 
Stroud  9-6  63.9  4108  23  4.6  5  1.0  46.7  100.8 
Daniels  11-5  69.4  3530  25  5.3  9  1.9  47.7  101.2 

Note on Success %: A successful pass gains at least 40% of the yards required on 1st down, 60% of the yards required on 2nd down, and 100% on 3rd or 4th down. The denominator is pass attempts + times sacked.

On the surface, the numbers are fairly close except for completion percentage, where  Daniels held a decisive advantage. Each quarterback came into less than desirable situations, with Stroud having a clear advantage of a much better offensive line led by All-Pro left tackle Laremy Tunsil. Even wide receiver Nico Collins was not a proven player until having a breakout season for the Texans in Stroud’s rookie season. Of course, both led their respective teams into the playoffs, but stopping there does Daniels a serious disservice.

Daniels is the first rookie quarterback to amass over 4,000 total yards, 30 total touchdowns, and 10 wins. His season of 69.4% completion percentage, with 400 or more pass attempts, is the best among NFL rookie quarterbacks. He has also thrown 12 touchdown passes between the 4th quarter and overtime, along with his 5 touchdown performance against the Philadelphia Eagles has never been done by any other rookie quarterback. He also joins quarterback Andrew Luck as the only rookie quarterback since 1950 to lead their team back from a double-digit deficit in back-to-back games for the win. His 127 yards rushing against the Atlanta Falcons pushed his season total to 864 yards, which broke Robert Griffin III’s rookie rushing record of 815 yards. Daniels’ four separate fourth quarter comeback wins are second only to Patrick Mahomes this season. During the last 3 wins, Daniels has not only been playing at a high level, but it’s been behind an offensive line that allowed an 11.67% sack rate during this stretch. It is not biased to say, that Jayden Daniels, who will win the Offensive Rookie of the Year Award, has put together an MVP-worthy season that could be regarded as the best rookie season ever by a quarterback. Now off to the playoffs.

Defense Needs To Step Up For The Playoffs

While Jayden Daniels has been everything for Washington and the primary reason for this team being on the verge of winning 12 games, he may not be enough in the playoffs. I’ve already addressed how the offensive line has regressed terribly over the last few weeks and a lot of that is due to injuries, but the defense has got to play better. They have been one of the worst rush defenses in the league, having allowed an average of 4.8 yards per attempt, ranking them 30th in the league.  They have been even worse against the run during the last 3 games, in which they allowed an average of 5.2 yards per attempt. They have allowed a 36.22% first down conversion rate when opponents run the ball on 3rd down, and have allowed 7.1 rushing first downs per game, ranked 21st in the league. Although Washington’s secondary is ranked 4th at completion percentage, 62.12%, they are ranked 22nd in the league at average yards per completion, at 10.4. They are still top 5 in 8.15% sack percentage with an 8.65% over the last three games.

There is no debating that Jayden Daniels has done more with less than most quarterbacks in the league, the rest of this team will absolutely need to find their way if they hope to make a significant playoff run this year. Every team in the NFC possesses a dynamic running attack supported by a big-play passing attack. Washington will almost have to emulate the early season success offensively when they rarely punted if the defense does not pick up its game. Regardless of whether Washington loses in the first round of the playoffs, it will not take away what this team has done with Daniels under center. The future looks really bright for Washington, especially considering that the team will have  plenty of cap space and draft capital in the coming offseason.

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