Not many rookie quarterbacks have ever started and won their first playoff game. Rookie quarterbacks to start and win it on the road are even more of an anomaly.
Last season, Houston Texans QB C.J. Stroud became just the 12th in NFL history to start and win a playoff game. Only three rookie quarterbacks have won their first career playoff start on the road.
This year, Denver Broncos rookie QB Bo Nix and Washington Commanders rookie Jayden Daniels both have a chance to join an exclusive company. Nix and the Broncos travel to Buffalo to take on the Bills while Daniels and the Commanders are set to battle the Buccaneers in Tampa Bay on Sunday night.
Daniels is taking an even-keeled approach in preparation for the biggest game of his career.
“It’s exciting but you have to deal with those emotions. At the end of the day, you still have to go out there and play ball. A lot of people are gonna put a lot of emphasis on it because at this point it’s win or go home,” Daniels told reporters this week. “The focus level might be a little bit more, but you have to stay who you are throughout the week, who you been for these 17-18 weeks, and go out there and play ball.”
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Daniels’ first career start was against the Bucs in Tampa Bay, completing 17 of 24 passes for 184 yards in a 37-20 Week 1 loss. It’s Daniels’ lowest passing yards total in a game with at least 20 attempts. He’s since become better acclimated to the speed of the game and is more comfortable and poised as a quarterback. Furthermore, his mobility has caused fits for opposing defenses. He broke the NFL’s rookie quarterback rushing record this season.
“I watched the game again. It’s crazy just to see the growth over not even like a year. You just learn something different each and every game,” Daniels said. “It was just something new. You just get more comfortable.”
The Bucs are playing an entirely different Daniels and Commanders squad from Week 1. Washington hasn’t lost to the same opponent twice this year and enters the playoffs on a five-game winning streak with Daniels the prohibitive favorite for NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year.
“It’s a full circle moment. You don’t usually get to play somebody at the start of a season and the start of a second season,” Commanders head coach Dan Quinn told reporters this week. “They absolutely got the best of us on that day. It’s a good measuring stick to see how much we’ve improved.”
If the Commanders win Sunday night, it’ll be the franchise’s first playoff win since the 2005 season. For Daniels, he’ll be just fourth rookie quarterback in NFL history to start and win 13 games, including the postseason.
“To be sitting here right now going into the playoffs (and) having a chance to win it all. It’s a new season. It’s anybody’s game,” Commanders wide receiver Terry McLaurin said. “It’s anybody’s trophy. We believe if we put our best foot forward, we can be one of the teams competing for that.”
Daniels told USA TODAY Sports he wanted to shift the culture on the Commanders and his rookie campaign is the major reason why they are now believers in the nation’s capital.
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