Robert Griffin III captivated the nation’s capital with a stellar rookie season in 2012.
But Griffin, who was named Offensive Rookie of the Year and led Washington to the playoffs that season, didn’t deliver as much early success compared to the franchise’s current Heisman Trophy-winning rookie quarterback.
Thanks to a sterling first month, Jayden Daniels has the Commanders off to their best four-game start since 2011 as they prepare for a Week 5 clash against the Cleveland Browns in Landover, Md., on Sunday.
Washington (3-1) has won three straight since losing 37-20 to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in its season opener. The franchise started 2-2 with Griffin in 2012.
“I didn’t have any expectations,” Daniels said of how he thought his first season would begin. “For me personally, how much can I learn and keep going? How fast can I learn to become a pro and keep going from there.”
Drafted second overall out of LSU, Daniels, 23, has quickly emerged as a front-runner to win the same award Griffin did 12 years ago.
Daniels’ completion percentage (82.1) through four games is not only the best in the league, but it’s also the highest mark of all time during a four-game stretch (minimum 50 passing attempts).
Daniels has only tossed three touchdown passes (rushing for another four scores), but the Commanders’ offense has still flourished with him. Washington averages 30.3 points per game, third most in the league.
The touted rookie has led more scoring drives (23) than he has thrown incompletions (19). He has been intercepted on just one of his 106 pass attempts, with that pick coming in last Sunday’s 42-14 win over the Arizona Cardinals.
Daniels has shined on Sundays, but Commanders coach Dan Quinn is also impressed by how the first-year signal-caller prepares himself on the days leading up to gameday.
“If you’re around him, you feel this work ethic,” Quinn said. “There’s no magic pixie dust that we’re throwing into him. It is absolutely grinding, working, and a lot of confidence comes from that.”
While Washington has totaled 80 points in its past two games, Cleveland (1-3) has managed just 66 all season. The Browns are averaging the sixth-fewest points per game in the league (16.5).
Wide receiver Jerry Jeudy, in his first year with Cleveland after spending his first four seasons with the Denver Broncos, said the Browns’ offense has yet to jell.
“Collectively, as a unit, we just all have to be on the same page at the same time. That’s the biggest thing, for real,” Jeudy said. “Because as an offense, as a group, if one person messed up, the whole play is messed up.”
The Browns scored on their first two drives last Sunday to take a 10-0 lead against the Raiders in Las Vegas but sputtered after that. Rodney McLeod Jr. returned a fumble for a touchdown in the fourth quarter for Cleveland’s only other points.
“Little things do become the big thing,” Browns coach Kevin Stefanski said. “We’ve talked about that a lot. So, we focus, in this building, on things that we can control, things that we can get better at. And I think that’s the mindset, that sort of winning mindset, that we have where we’re going to get together and find a way to fix it.”
Cleveland’s offense could soon receive a boost.
Star running back Nick Chubb returned to practice on Wednesday, taking the field for the first time since sustaining a season-ending knee injury in Week 2 of last season. Chubb, a 1,000-yard rusher in four straight seasons (2019-22) was a limited participant.
Defensive end Myles Garrett (Achilles) and linebacker Jordan Hicks (ribs/elbow/triceps) were among those who didn’t practice for the Browns, while tight end David Njoku (ankle) and running back Pierre Strong (hamstring) joined Chubb in being among those limited.
Brian Robinson Jr. is dealing with a knee injury and was one of four Commanders with injury designations who didn’t practice on Wednesday. Fellow running back Austin Ekeler (concussion) was among those limited.
–Field Level Media