Just when Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels must have been looking for motivation, some arrived from the Los Angeles Rams camp. Daniels is coming off a difficult time after a clock-management error on Sunday led to the Commanders’ face-off against the New York Giants in a 27-27 tie. At the center of it was Daniels.
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“The great thing about this league is it forces you to focus on what’s next, and if you’re doing what you think is best for your team, the best thing to do is learn from that as fast as you possibly can and move forward,” said Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford on The Lets Go podcast. “How do I get myself ready so that, hey, next week let’s not be in that spot. It’s a tough spot to be in sometimes when you feel like you have let yourself down or let your team down, whatever that is, through an interception or a mental lapse, whatever, but you’ve got to move forward.
“There’s a new team out there that I’ll tell you what, they don’t feel sorry for you. They’re coming out there trying to beat you next week, so he’s got to do everything he can to get ready to go, and I’m sure he will.”
The art of moving on is something that Daniels will have to grasp at the moment. The Commanders’ late-game blunder unfolded deep in Giants territory, where Washington had no timeouts remaining. Instead of stopping the clock, the team ran a play, only for Daniels to be tackled without getting the ball away as time expired. Daniels, Dan Quinn, and offensive coordinator David Blough all came under scrutiny for the decision, but it’s Daniels who is facing the heat most.
“Jayden Daniels probably cost my man Dan Quinn his job, to be honest with you,” Micah Parsons said on his show, The Edge.
Parsons played under Quinn’s leadership for the Dallas Cowboys from 2021 to 2023. Having the respect for his former defensive coordinator, Parsons could not sugarcoat what he felt for Daniels.
“And I’m a big Jayden Daniels fan. But the reality is, like, he probably cost a lot of people their jobs this past weekend,” he shared.
Washington took possession at the Giants’ 24-yard-line with just 12 seconds remaining in the 10-minute overtime period. Since neither team had any timeouts left, the Commanders had an opportunity to stop the clock and try their luck with a potential game-winning field goal.
Instead of getting the ball away, Daniels tried to evade pressure in the pocket, thereby holding onto the ball before scrambling and being tackled in bounds. The clock expired as he rose to his feet, preventing the Commanders from attempting the field goal. But what hurt fans most was that the failed play came from Daniels, who has experience in high-pressure situations.
“Respectfully, we get coached so much on these situations that, like, I’m a defensive player, and this shit’s programmed to me. I know what to do in those situations. There’s no way I’m taking a sack with 14 seconds left and no timeouts,” Parsons said. “Mind you, it’d be different if Jayden Daniels was a rookie. This is your third year. This your third year. You’ve been to the NFC Championship game. You’ve been in big moments before. And to me, even after a sack, you’re casually getting up.”
So, right now, Daniels will need the motivation that would help him to erase the memory against New York and push him to start things afresh. The advice now comes from someone who is also going through a rough patch. In five weeks, Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford has already thrown six interceptions, with his team sitting at 2-3.
Daniels and Stafford will meet in Week 9 on Sunday, November 8. It remains to be seen whether the Commanders quarterback will follow Stafford’s advice, use it to his advantage, and turn the tables on the Rams signal-caller’s team.