There are a lot of similarities between Jayden Daniels and Joe Burrow, and their respective journeys to being elite NFL quarterbacks. Both QBs transferred to LSU, where they each won a Heisman before being selected in the top two of their respective drafts. Burrow went first overall in 2020, and Daniels was selected second in 2024. Daniels took the league by storm as a rookie, leading the Washington Commanders to the NFC Championship game, and Burrow took the Cincinnati Bengals to a Super Bowl appearance in just his second season.
While Burrow has established a level of consistency in the league that Daniels hopes to accomplish as he enters year two, there’s another Burrow experience that Daniels will be hoping to avoid. This isn’t about the unfortunate injuries the Cincinnati quarterback has sustained; it’s about something the Commaders will be responsible for preventing.
In recent years, Burrow has remained an elite quarterback, but the Bengals are just 14-13 in his starts. The reason why is Cincinnati’s defense; the Bengals have consistently lost high-scoring games, failing their elite quarterback. After how Daniels’ rookie season went, this could very well be his fate if Washington doesn’t improve its defense fast.
Commanders defense must be prepared to support Jayden Daniels
Burrow isn’t the first elite quarterback whose defense was their own worst enemy, and he won’t be the last. The Commanders just have to make sure Daniels isn’t the next. Despite Washington’s 12 wins last season, and NFC Championship appearance, the team isn’t off to a good start making sure that doesn’t happen.
Part of Daniels’ legend as a rookie is the fact that he won so many shootouts and had clutch, game-winning drives. However, flexing that ability is like a boxer proving they have a good chin; it’s better to avoid punches than to show how well you can take them. Unfortunately, the Commanders defense took a lot of punches last season.
Washington had the 30th-worst rushing defense last season, allowing 137.5 rushing yards a game. The team also gave up 23 points per game, ranking the unit 18th in the league. Including the playoffs, the Commanders had seven games where opposing teams scored 30 or more points. The worst moment came when the team was a step away from the Super Bowl, but they allowed 55 points to the Philadelphia Eagles.
As embarrassing as that loss was, it should serve as a painful lesson for the Commanders. It doesn’t matter how great your quarterback is, or how many points your offense can score, a bad defense will keep you from reaching your potential more times than not. If the Commanders are going to reach their potential with Daniels at quarterback, the defense has to be better.
