A lot to digest for Jay Gruden from the Commanders’ win on Sunday night, clinching their first playoff berth since 2020 in the midst of their first winning season since his era – and it starts, ends, and runs through Jayden Daniels.
“I thought he was incredible,” Gruden told Grant & Lynnell on Monday. “The first half, they had some struggles with penalties and sacks, got some long yardage situations, and only had seven points at the half. Things could have unraveled a little bit, but like he has done, Jayden just kept his poise and stuck with the plan and made some plays when he had to, whether they were there or not. He just continues to show the world that he's one of the top quarterbacks in the NFL and will be for a very long time.”
And part of that success comes from Kliff Kingsbury continuing to find ways to get the entire offense involved, even with lesser-known players getting a lot of run.
“He utilizes formations and personnel groupings well, and does some good things down the field to get some spacing, which is very important,” Gruden said. “It’s very hard to play tight man to man against Washington because of the ability of Jayden to run, unless you have a spy out there, but then you can only rush three guys and that opens up lanes as well. Jayden puts a lot of pressure on defensive coordinators; you want to play eyeballs on the quarterback, and Kliff dials up good zone beaters, and if you want to play man to man, Jayden can hurt you with his legs. They both have an answer for what the defenses are trying to do, so hats off to both of them.”
Jay of course broke down some of the big plays from Sunday’s win over Atlanta, but what that win did is give the Commanders the No. 6 seed for the time being, which they can keep with a win against Dallas or a Green Bay loss to Chicago next week.
And, after he looked back at that 2015 season where he led the team to the playoffs, does Jay think they’re better off as the No. 7 seed and headed back to Philly for round 3, or the No. 6 seed against the NFC South or West champ, most likely the Rams?
“It’s a tough trip going all the way across the country, but I guess if you’d rather have your druthers, you'd rather play the Rams, I guess. They have a very young defense and their offensive line’s not protecting Matthew very well, but they're running the ball pretty good,” Gruden said. “They have some familiarity with Philly, they played them twice and they beat them once, so they have some confidence that they can beat Philadelphia. Obviously, Hurts didn't play the last three quarters, but still, a win is a win. Any game is gonna be tough on the road, but I think from a matchup standpoint, I guess I would pick the Rams if I had to pick. Anything other than Philadelphia at Philadelphia.”