Washington Commanders: Jayden Daniels Shakes Off Losing Streak

Washington Commanders’ Quarterback Jayden Daniels is facing a losing streak he hasn’t dealt with in years.

The last time Daniels experienced back-to-back losses was in his 2022 season with LSU, where they lost to Texas A&M 38-23 and Georgia 50-30. His worst losing streak was at Arizona State University in 2019, where they lost four straight games. Now a pro, he’s dealing with consecutive losses with a team that’s very familiar with this space.

The Commanders have come a long way from only winning four games last season and find themselves hoping to get into the playoffs. The energy, players, coaches, and staff are different, but Sunday’s 34-26 loss to the Dallas Cowboys felt like the same old Washington.

On Sunday, they’ll face the Tennessee Titans, a team that, like Dallas, comes to Northwest Stadium with only three wins this season. The main takeaway from Sunday’s loss? Records don’t mean anything when a team plays to win. Washington needs to treat the 3-8 teams like a 10-2 team moving forward.

Daniels Moving on to Next Game

Speaking to the media after Wednesday’s practice, Jayden Daniels was passive about the team’s losses. “You just go out here and play football. Execute, and let the cards fall where they fall,” he said. “It’s just how we prepare. Go out there and have fun and play loose, and we’ll live with the outcomes.”

However, this week’s outcome was grim. Not only did the Commanders lose at home, but they also lost to the Cowboys. In addition, Dallas won with a backup quarterback. Ouch. The one good thing to come out of Sunday’s loss was the sight of Daniels scrambling with the ball. That’s the Jayden Daniels we all know from Week 1. He carried the ball seven times for 74 yards and had one touchdown.

Commanders’ Run Game Going Lame?

The Commanders left Sunday’s game with running backs Brian Robinson Jr. and Austin Eckeler injured. The good news is Robinson (ankle) was able to practice Wednesday. The bad news is Eckeler is still out with a concussion, NBC Sports Washington reports.

Depending on how Robinson shakes out by Friday, and with Eckler on concussion number two, Daniels’ running ability will be needed in the run game. The run game isn’t lost, however, considering there is still Jeremy McNichols to lean on and Chris Rodriguez Jr. is returning to the roster this week. However, Daniels said he doesn’t feel pressured to do more running. “I just go out there and do my job. That’s it,” he said. “We got other guys that are able to run the ball…Things happen in football. It’s the next man up mentality.”

Questionable Roster Shift

One of the biggest question marks this week comes with kicker Austin Seibert returning to injured reserve. More than likely, he will not be seen again this season. Missing that extra point in the last seconds of Sunday’s game will be felt for a while. The question now is, was he still injured? Seibert’s body of work cannot be judged on one bad game. People easily forget this is the man who scored all the points in Week 2’s win against the New York Giants, nailing seven field goals.

Going into Sunday, he was deadly accurate, making 22 PATs. He missed the last two games with hip issues. Sunday was very uncommon. He missed three of his five kicks: two extra points and a field goal. According to head coach Dan Quinn, Seibert’s exit back to injured reserve is now the result of a groin injury, CBS Sports reported Wednesday via the Washington Post. 

Final Thoughts

I want to believe the Commanders can push forward and get into the playoffs, but Sunday’s game was concerning. The playcalling was the definition of insanity. Then, in the fourth quarter, it’s like someone turned on the “hey, let’s do what’s been working all season” switch, and everyone tried to make up for three quarters in one quarter. The Commanders need to get back to what’s been working: ball control, a strong run game, and, by gosh, please stop forgetting about Terry McLaurin. It’s getting annoying.