So, Jay Gruden, what did YOU think of the Commanders’ first playoff win since 2006 down in Tampa, when they beat a Bucs team you were working as an offensive assistant for under your brother?
“Amazing win, amazing game to watch down here in Florida. It was a fun game,” Gruden told Grant & Danny Monday. “Critical moments were captured by Washington, and they made the plays when they had to, and got it done at the end. It was a hell of a game.”
To Jay, the most important play was the third-and-6 pass to Dyami Brown with just under five minutes to go was the key play of the game, because it kept the game-sealing drive going, but ‘there were a lot of big plays in the game.’
Not in the running game, though, because non-Jaydens had 18 carries for 34 yards Sunday night, and the Commanders had to rely on Daniels to rack up over 300 all-purpose yards and, most importantly, not turn it over.
“First class, top-notch quarterback play. One of the top three or four the way he’s playing, and it’s his game management skills. He doesn't turn the ball over and doesn’t take a lot of sacks,” Gruden said. “He only got sacked once by a pretty good Bucs defense, and it wasn’t like it was second-and-1 all day. They tried to blitz him, but he just escapes with his feet, and he anticipates throws., and he makes it look effortless. He just gets it done; he has an innate ability where he knows when to escape with his legs and make positive plays, and he hardly ever makes a wrong decision with the ball in his hands, which is really weird for a first-year quarterback.”’
And Jayden made the go-ahead touchdown throw on a fourth down play late in the game with a dart to Terry McLaurin, one of the few holdovers from the Gruden era here in DC who has turned into, at least this year, a second-team All-Pro receiver.
“He wasn't really the No. 1 guy at Ohio State; Parris Campbell was on that team, Curtis Samuel was on that team, and I think JK Dobbins was on that team, so he didn't really emerge as a top prospect, Top 3 round player until the Senior Bowl, where he dominated and moved up our draft board like rocket fire,” Gruden said. “I thought we should’ve taken him in the second or late in the first, but we got Sweat in the first round and then had to wait until the third to get Terry; fortunately he fell to us, and it’s his ability to do whatever you want him to do. He’s got great acceleration, he’s very smart and very detailed on what he does so he's never gonna line up wrong, and he’s a perfect player. A combination of great kid, great player, productive, good speed, he's tough, he'll block. He does it all.”
Take a listen to Gruden’s entire visit with G&D, as he discusses more about Sunday’s win (including Dan Quinn’s trust on fourth downs) and looks ahead to Detroit!