If Jay Gruden had to use one word to describe Jayden Daniels’ performance on Sunday in the win over Philly, it would be…
“Clutch, just clutch. Ice water in his veins, all the normal things you're gonna say for an elite player. Never blinked, and that's the beauty of it,” Jay told Danny and Tobi Monday. “He had a couple picks and didn't play his best football there for a while, but he just kept grinding, stuck with the plan, had the confidence and the swagger about him, and got it done at the end. That's what you love to see about a quarterback. The moment is not too big ever for this kid.”
And he did it on a day where the team turned the ball over five times and had no real running game to speak of outside of him…but this is where that whole narrative of him being a running QB who can throw is flipped, and where the offense gets credit for continuing to try to run.
“That’s really hard; I’ve been in games calling plays and you lose a yard, you're second and 11 or 12, and you try to run the next time and get a penalty and you just want to abandon it altogether, but you can't do that,” Gruden said. “I think Kliff did a great job; even though they only got a couple of yards here and there, still got to keep the defense honest. You can't make your team one-dimensional, but at the end of the day, it was a passing game and Jayden's scrambling the ability that did it, and they got it done. Being balanced is critical, but sometimes, a team's defense is pretty damn good at stopping the run.”
And perhaps unlike past Washington teams, even when they were down big early and all the way through, these Commanders never quit.
“You gotta stay upbeat and positive and make sure everybody sticks with the plan. You have a plan all week long, you practice it and prepare for these moments, no matter how it goes,” Gruden said. “I think the drive when they were down 21-7 and went 94 yards was the best drive of the season; he had the go ball to Dyami and then the touchdown to Terry, and I think that gave everybody hope and confidence they could get it done through the air. So, you just have to stick with it, and hope your playmakers make the plays.”
The defense struggled early but got it together and made the hold when they needed it in the final three minutes after the final Washington turnover, and this time, the Commanders got it done.
“I think protection was a lot better; I just feel like Jayden could set his feet and get off a progression, and move around and find a second or third guy, and then if he had a lane, he could take it and run,” Gruden said. “Last time against Philadelphia, there wasn't a lot of series for him to run and he was not able to get to progressions, so credit to the offensive line for doing a good job. I know Philly was down a couple of guys, so there’s a couple reasons why they couldn't get home, but the biggest reason is pass protection. Usually, if you can get home with those four guys, it's a nightmare for the quarterback, but when he has time to scour the field and then find lanes to run, Jayden Daniels will gut you.”
Take a listen to Gruden’s entire call-in, as he discusses how the Commanders can use the screen game to make up for running deficiencies, how they can avoid the narrative that they only won because Jalen Hurts was injured, Marshon Lattimore’s up-and-down game, and more!