Jayden Daniels' efficiency returns in win over Titans

Breaking down Daniels' efficiency as the Commanders beat the Titans

Washington Commanders rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels got back to being incredibly efficient in the Commanders win over the Titans on Sunday. When the Commanders started the season well, the run game was strong and Daniels was incredibly efficient. They weren’t able to sustain that against some very strong defenses like the Steelers and the Eagles, but they got back on track against the Titans. Daniels completed 25 of 30 passes for 206 yards and three touchdowns with one interception.

It wasn’t a spectacular performance from Daniels, but it didn’t need to be. The run game was dominant, which of course he has a hand in with the threat of the read-option. That kept the offense ahead of the chains, so all they needed from Daniels as a passer was to be efficient and move the chains, which is precisely what he did. Daniels was very quick processing reads and getting the ball out to open targets, letting them pick up yards after the catch. It was evident from the very first play of the game.

On the first play of the game, the Commanders have a split field concept. To the left, they have an arrow concept, with a corner route from tight end John Bates, a flat route from running back Brian Robinson and a spot route in between them by Zach Ertz. To the right side the Commanders run what I believe Kingsbury calls “Izzie”, which is essentially a slot fade concept. On the outside, Terry McLaurin runs a quick hitch designed to occupy the outside cornerback while Noah Brown in the slot runs a fade towards the sideline.

The Titans are a team that likes to play a lot of quarters coverage, like many teams in the modern NFL. There are different variations of quarters where those outside cornerbacks will be more aggressive on things underneath, but the Titans don’t use those. Instead, they have their outside cornerbacks playing off and soft to enable them to protect against anything deep. The Commanders likely knew this going into the game, because at the snap of the ball you can see Daniels immediately line up and rip the throw out to McLaurin on the hitch.

He can do this comfortably because he knows that outside cornerback is going to have to focus on Brown’s slot fade and protect against the deep threat, leaving the flat wide open underneath. As McLaurin catches the ball, there's no defender within five yards of him, allowing him to turn up the field and pick up additional yards after the catch.

That play was a good example of how Daniels would play throughout the rest of the game. He was very quick processing the coverages and getting the ball out, finding receivers in lots of space.

On this play, the Commanders start in a bunch set to the left, but send receiver Olamida Zaccheaus in motion to the right side. That leaves just McLaurin and Ertz in a stacked set to the left. The pair execute a basic stick concept, with McLaurin running the stick route and Ertz working to the flat. As Daniels drops back to pass and reaches the top of his drop, he could easily just throw the ball out to Ertz in the flat. I think a lot of quarterbacks would probably do that in this situation. But Daniels knows he doesn’t have to rush things.

Instead of hurrying the ball to the flat, Daniels takes a moment to process the defense. What he can see is the flat defender is near McLaurin, making it look like McLaurin is covered, but actually the defender has zero intentions of covering McLaurin and is trying his best to work around him to get to Ertz in the flat. Meanwhile, the cornerback that started opposite McLaurin is playing off and soft.

Daniels knows once that flat defender clears McLaurin to work to Ertz, then McLaurin will be wide open on his route. So Daniels takes the extra beat and allows the defender to clear McLaurin before delivering the ball to his best receiver. Just like before, when McLaurin catches the pass, he has no defender within five yards of him, allowing him to turn up the field and pick up more yards after the catch.

That efficiency was the theme of the game for Daniels. He was very quick to process things and get the ball out of his hands to move the chains. But while he was efficient, he wasn’t in a hurry. He was able to slow things down when needed and work through progressions, even in key situations.