Despite his big Monday Night Football performance against Cincinnati, at least a few pundits were left unimpressed by Jayden Daniels.
On Monday Night against the Cincinnati Bengals, Jayden Daniels put up one of the greatest rookie performances of all time. He completed 21 of his 23 passes generated nearly 300 yards of total ofense, and accounted for three touchdowns, one on the ground and two through the air. Quite importantly, he also played turnover-free football in the first NFL game in over 80 years to feature zero punts or turnovers from either side.
Daniels's performance has fans and commentators across the nation debating whether he should have been picked over the ultra-hyped Caleb Williams in the 2024 NFL Draft, and just how much of a favorite for Offensive Rookie of the Year Daniels should be. After a promising first couple of games in the league, Daniels's showing against Cincy is being regarded as a "coming out party" of sorts.
However, James Raipen from "Cincinnati Bengals Talk" isn't buying the hype. In his postgame analysis of the game, he described Daniels as "not that good," blaming Cincinnati's defense for giving him far too many opportunities.
Let's get one thing straight- Raipen isn't wrong that the Bengals defense is a bad one and had a particularly poor night on Monday. However, that doesn't negate the fact that Daniels played one of the best games we've ever seen from a rookie quarterback, and certainly one of the best games from any quarterback through a defense-heavy first three weeks of this NFL season.
While the Bengals didn't make things particularly hard for him, Daniels did more than simply take what was given to him. Daniels completed all of his attempts except for two deep ones, en route to a staggering completion percentage over expected of 20.8%. In essence, this means that an average passer could have expected to complete around 16 of the 23 throws Daniels attempted on Monday compared to the 21 Daniels hit.
Raipen's comments are being met with plenty of resistance, as the NFL's fans have generally come to the defense of a young player who just had a special night. While it's fair to contextualize Daniels's performance as having come against a less-than-elite defense, it's certainly not fair to discount his level of play thus far, especially with the league-wide dip in passing stats as a backdrop.
On a night where his own defense gave him nearly nothing, Daniels had to be essentially perfect to win, and he did exactly that. The 0-3 Bengals are set to face quite the array of quarterbacks in the coming weeks, including the Panthers' Andy Dalton, a former Pro Bowler in Cincinnati, two-time MVP Lamar Jackson with the Baltimore Ravens, and embattled passers Daniel Jones and Deshaun Watson from the Giants and Browns, respectively. Maybe we'll learn a bit more about this defense and just how unique Daniels's success against them may or may not have been.
