ARLINGTON, Texas — Jayden Daniels’ record-setting rookie regular season ended with a whimper on Sunday. The Washington Commanders’ first-year sensation sat on the sideline for the second half of Sunday’s 23-19 win over the Dallas Cowboys after complaining of leg soreness at halftime.
Daniels finished with six completions on 12 attempts with 38 passing yards. He added another 27 yards as a rusher.
If Sunday’s matchup was a must-win, Daniels said he would have played the entire game — sore leg and all. But the Commanders were only playing for seeding. The win gave Washington the sixth seed, but they were guaranteed a ticket to the postseason regardless of the outcome.
“They would’ve had to drag me off the field,” he told reporters after the regular season finale.
But with the playoff berth already in hand, Commanders coach Dan Quinn decided to protect his quarterback for the postseason run.
“It wasn’t a plan going in. We thought we were going to go all the way,” said Quinn, who led Washington to a 12-5 record in his first season. “It felt like it was going to be a game where we were going to have to use the quarterback’s legs more.”
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Daniels, the No. 2 pick in this year’s draft, is widely considered a shoo-in for the NFL’s Rookie of the Year award. He threw for 3,568 yards with 33 total touchdowns and nine interceptions, leading an efficient Commanders’ offense to its best record since the 1990s. He also led the Commanders in rushing with 891 yards, an NFL record for a rookie quarterback.
Backup quarterback Marcus Mariota relieved Daniels in Sunday’s game, tossing a pair of touchdowns, including a game-winner to wide receiver Terry McLaurin on the final play from scrimmage.
Though he said he desperately wanted to be on the field Sunday, Daniels was still seen cheering on Mariota throughout the second half. After the veteran dove into the end zone for a five-yard rushing touchdown, the rookie sported a wide smile and was among the first to pat Mariota on the back when he returned to the sideline.
Daniels noted that his urge to play only grew when the Commanders’ offense took the field with a three-point deficit with three minutes and 18 seconds remaining. The rookie led four game-winning drives this season. He wanted a fifth.
“Selfishly, you want to be a part of that,” Daniels said. “Obviously just to see those guys, how Terry just broke the franchise record with a walk-off touchdown and Marcus, everything he’s been through in his life and his career.”
As Mariota noted after the game, his rookie counterpart will have plenty more opportunities to lead his team to glory.
“[Our relationship] has been special. He’s an unbelievable guy. It’s fun to be around him; it’s fun to see him grow,” Mariota told the Fox broadcast. “The more that we can help him, the sky is the limit.”
The next challenge for Daniels and the 12-5 Commanders is a wild-card matchup against the 10-7 Tampa Bay Buccaneers, a rematch of Washington’s 37-20 Week One loss.
• Liam Griffin can be reached at lgriffin@washingtontimes.com.
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