Hogs Haven
Jayden Daniels’ coming out party!!
The Commanders traveled to Cincinnati to play the final game of Week 3. With a win, Washington could retain control of the NFC East.
Washington entered this Week 3 game with a 1-1 record and, with the only NFC East division win of the season, in first place ahead of the Eagles and Cowboys, who had both also started the season 1-1.
Despite being 0-2, the Bengals were favored at home against Washington. This was partly due to Washington’s unimpressive 3-point win at home against the Giants in Week 2, but also for several reasons that had nothing to do with Washington and everything to do with Cincinnati. First, the Bengals had entered the season as a popular pick to reach the AFC Championship game (and possibly the super bowl) at the end of the season. Secondly, the Bengals had lost to the Chiefs by just 1 point in Kansas City in Week 2. A third factor was Joe Burrow’s history in the NFL. He had the reputation of being a slow starter; Burrow was 1-9 in the first two weeks of his five seasons in the league, but 4-0-1 in Week 3 games. The general view was that the Bengals would get their season back on track at home on Monday night against a rookie QB and a Commanders offense that had mustered just over 20 points per game to open the ‘24 season.
This game probably ended up on MNF because of the Joe Burrow-Jayden Daniels storyline — both former LSU QBs and Heisman Trophy winners. But that ended up being mostly a non-factor in the game, as Washington’s offense simply kept scoring. Jayden Daniels would take a knee to end the first half and the 4th quarter, but, aside from that, Washington scored on every possession — 5 touchdowns and a field goal. The Commanders, for the second week in a row, did not punt the ball and did not turn the ball over.
Partly, the outstanding ball control in Weeks 1 & 2 had been a result of conservative play calling in the passing game by Kliff Kingsbury, and conservative decision-making by Jayden Daniels. Coming into the game, Bengals CB Cam Taylor-Britt commented that Jayden Daniels wasn’t asked to do much in Kliff Kingsbury’s “college offense”.
That all changed in this game against the Bengals, with Daniels completing 21-23 passes for 254 yards and a pair of passing TDs, with his longest completion of the day going for 55 yards, almost all of it in the air.
Bengals open the scoring
Cincinnati’s offense started hot, taking a 7-0 lead when Burrow went deep to Jamar Chase, who was wide open, for a touchdown that Chase caught in stride inside the 5-yard line, having run right past rookie CB Mike Sainristil. It was already looking as if it would be a long night for Washington’s defense.
Commanders
The Commanders relied heavily on Austin Ekeler on the opening drive, earning...
