CINCINNATI — Jayden Daniels threw two touchdown passes and ran for another score as the Washington Commanders registered a 38-33 win over the Cincinnati Bengals on Monday night.
The Commanders scored on each of their possessions in the game with the exception of kneeldowns at the each of each half.
Daniels, the dynamic No. 2 overall pick in this year’s draft, guided Washington (2-1) to a win for the second straight week. He completed 21 of 23 passes for 254 yards. The LSU product sealed the outcome with a 27-yard pass touchdown pass to Terry McLaurin with 2:10 left.
McLaurin finished with four catches for 100 yards.
Cincinnati quarterback Joe Burrow completed 29 of 38 passes for 324 yards and three touchdowns, while Ja’Marr Chase caught six passes for 118 yards and two touchdowns. The Bengals fell to 0-3 for the first time since head coach Zac Taylor’s first year in 2019.
Zack Moss scored on a 1-yard run with 40 seconds left, but the Bengals could not recover the onside kick and Washington ran out the clock.
The Bengals showed energy on the opening drive, and Chase recorded his first touchdown grab of the season.
On first-and-10 from the Washington 41, Burrow spotted Chase in man-to-man coverage and tossed a perfect pass on a deep fade for the touchdown that put Cincinnati up, 7-0. It was also Burrow’s 100th career passing touchdown in his 55th game, tied for seventh fastest to 100 in NFL history.
The Commanders answered with a pair of dominating offensive possessions. On the first one, Daniels converted fourth-and-2 from the Cincinnati 32 with a 30-yard pass to Luke McCaffrey. Brian Robinson Jr. later went in from 2 yards to tie the game.
The Bengals lost starting right tackle Trent Brown to a right knee injury in the second quarter.
After Cincinnati’s Evan McPherson missed his first field-goal attempt in six tries this season, from 48 yards, the Commanders marched 62 yards in seven plays, capped by Austin Ekeler’s 24-yard touchdown run.
McPherson kicked a 28-yard field goal, cutting Washington’s lead to 14-10.
Daniels lofted a perfect pass and beat cornerback Cam Taylor-Britt with a 55-yard rainbow that landed in the arms of McLaurin. One play later, it was Daniels on the keeper for a 4-yard touchdown run, the third TD on the ground in his rookie season.
McPherson followed with a 31-yard field goal, leaving Cincinnati with a 21-13 halftime deficit.
Ekeler opened the second half with a 62-yard return to the Cincinnati 33 but took a hit and was taken out of the game and evaluated for a possible concussion. Nine plays later, Daniels found tackle eligible Trent Scott for a 1-yard touchdown and a 28-13 Commanders lead.
Cincinnati began to rally as Burrow finished a third-quarter drive with a 2-yard TD pass to Andrei Iosivas on fourth down. Burrow’s 31-yard sideline strike to Chase cut Washington’s lead to 31-26 with 9:42 left in the fourth after the two-point try failed.
–Mike Petraglia, Field Level Media