Come up smiling: Hard hits no match for Jayden Daniels, NFL’s charismatic new star

ASHBURN — Rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels kept his cool when kicker Zane Gonzalez made a last-second kick to give the Washington Commanders their first postseason win in 19 years.

He tried not to show much emotion when he led the team to a convincing win over the Detroit Lions for a second playoff victory.

When opposing defenders hit him so hard that they make him leave his feet, knock his helmet off or roll up on his legs, he can’t help but flash a million-dollar smile.

Why wouldn’t he? He is living a life he imagined growing up in Southern California.

“For me, football is fun. It’s a safe haven for me. …” he said ahead of Sunday’s NFC championship matchup with the Philadelphia Eagles. “I get to do what I love each and every week — win, lose or draw. It’s just a blessing to be one of those kids that are able to fulfill their dream.”

The post-hit, let’s-have-some-fun demeanor is a big part of what the young star has added to the Commanders’ identity since the franchise selected him with its second pick in last year’s draft — a move that jump-started one of the most dramatic turnarounds in NFL history.

None of it would be possible — the postseason victories, the dramatic comebacks, the national attention — if Daniels couldn’t take a hit.

He can.

Commanders fans learned that in the first regular-season game of his pro career after a pair of hard hits knocked his helmet off in a 37-20 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Undeterred, Daniels strapped the lid back on and finished the game.

“It’s football. You’re going to get hit. I’m not hurt,” Daniels said this week. “If somebody gets a good hit on me, it’s a good hit, and I move on to the next play.”

Hence, the (usually) dependable smile.

Daniels wasn’t smiling when a rib injury knocked him out of the Week 7 win against the Carolina Panthers or leg soreness sidelined him for the second half of the Week 18 win against the rival Dallas Cowboys.

On both occasions, the grin returned as Daniels cheered on backup quarterback Marcus Mariota.

Coach Dan Quinn said he had never seen Daniels as happy as when Mariota scored a game-winning touchdown to defeat Dallas this month.

Quinn said Daniels’ occasional flashes of emotion on the field or while watching from the sidelines stand out because, most of the time, the rookie is like Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Terminator: an ice-cold, laser-focused machine.

“He is an elite competitor. If you watch him in the game, he can stay in it a really long time. He does not do this,” said Quinn, miming a roller coaster with his hands. “There’s not a lot of stuff that’s going to go on externally; he can really stay in it.”

Quinn could do without the hits, though.

Daniels’ slim 6-foot-4-inch frame — he is listed at a generous 210 pounds — was one of the biggest knocks on the Heisman Trophy winner as he emerged from Louisiana State University.

Before last year’s draft, clips of the most grimace-inducing shots he had taken in college popped up on social media.

“Jayden Daniels’ biggest flaw is being prone to looking like a Looney Tunes character every time he gets hit,” SB Nation analyst JP Acosta wrote alongside a clip of the quarterback fumbling in the open field against Ole Miss.

“Man got the Sonic rings knocked out him,” another commenter wrote after a hit against Mississippi State, referring to video game maker Sega’s blue hedgehog.

If there was some skepticism before Daniels took his first snap, you don’t hear that now. On Thursday, he was named a finalist for the NFL’s Rookie of the Year award and is the betting favorite to take the award home next month.

Washington’s typically cynical fan base embraced Daniels and turned his No. 5 jersey into the league’s bestseller in September.

For the first time in a generation, Commanders fans have a quarterback they can brag about during debates at the bar.

Though Quinn has joked that he is most proud of Daniels when he slides to avoid hits, he has accepted that risks come with exploiting his quarterback’s strengths. Daniels broke the rookie rushing record for QBs this season while directing a high-powered passing attack.

“I don’t know if I’ll ever be comfortable with that,” Quinn said of his rookie’s hits. “But he is an elite competitor. He really is. It’s one of the things I admire most about him: that he just doesn’t back down from the moments. I’d like to see less smiling in those instances and more on some of the others.”

Most of the time, Daniels can’t help it — it’s just who he is. His teammates call him a fiery, poised competitor who is fearless in clutch moments — something the rest of the league learned while watching Washington’s six last-second wins this season.

“I think I was just blessed with that from God and my parents, having that type of demeanor … and that’s kind of how I move through my everyday life,” Daniels said in September. “I’m trying to go out there and do whatever it takes to win the game.”

That hasn’t made the season any easier for a generation of Commanders fans who held their breath with each hit — and there were plenty of them.

Washington has a rich and infamous history of quarterback injuries. It began with Lawrence Taylor’s career-ending hit on Joe Theismann’s leg in 1985 and continued with an eerily similar injury to Alex Smith in 2018.

Daniels’ easiest and most worrying mirror is Robert Griffin III. Like Daniels, Griffin III was a Heisman Trophy winner and the No. 2 pick, who also took the league by storm and led Washington to the postseason in 2012.

A knee injury against the Seattle Seahawks in the wild-card round derailed Griffin’s career and delayed Washington’s dream of finding a franchise quarterback.

Fast-forward to 2024, and it’s easy to see why many Commanders fans had to watch through their fingers when Atlanta Falcons linebacker J.D. Bertrand sacked Daniels in the second quarter of their Week 17 matchup.

Bertrand collided with the back of the rookie’s legs, causing him to bend backward like a contortionist, sucking the air out of Northwest Stadium.

Daniels spent an extra second on the ground before popping back up, ultimately leading the Commanders to an overtime victory to secure a playoff berth.

A month later, the star rookie is still healthy, smiling ahead of Washington’s NFC Championship tilt against the Philadelphia Eagles.

Though they will be underdogs Sunday, Washington’s unflappable signal-caller has the Commanders feeling like a Super Bowl berth is a real possibility.

“He’s the ultimate pro as a rookie. He knows what it’s like not just to take care of your body but to put the time and the work in film study,” wide receiver Terry McLaurin said. “When you see your quarterback is never shaken, good or bad, it gives you confidence.”