Hogs Haven
A collection of articles, podcasts & tweets from around the web to keep you in touch with the Commanders
Outside of Terry McLaurin, the Commanders weren’t expected to have even above-average players surrounding Daniels on offense. The moves Peters had made to solidify the team were relatively modest, adding veterans such as Tyler Biadasz and Nick Allegretti along the offensive line, Olamide Zaccheaus and Zach Ertz as pass catchers and Austin Ekeler to an already-crowded backfield. Before the season, there was more chatter about draftees such as Luke McCaffrey and Ben Sinnott becoming part of the next great Washington offense in the years to come than there was about the stopgap veterans in the starting lineup. When Peters traded 2022 first-round pick Jahan Dotson to the Eagles just before the season, it felt like the Commanders didn’t care about having as many playmakers around Daniels as possible.
Well, it turns out that Daniels has made all of those players better. Along with a resurgent season from offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury, Daniels has formed connections with multiple receivers. Zaccheaus had a pair of 85-yard games. Ertz caught 66 passes and has been a valuable third- and fourth-down threat. Noah Brown, signed off waivers before the season to replace Dotson, ran as the No. 2 wideout before suffering a kidney injury. Dyami Brown caught 11 passes for 187 yards in Washington’s two postseason wins.
Of course, it’s not just what Daniels has done but how he has done it. He has turned the end of Commanders games into appointment television. In Week 3, he hit my pick for best pass of the season to McLaurin to seal a win over the Bengals. His Hail Mary gave the Commanders a victory over the Bears in Week 8. He led a dramatic comeback at home against the Cowboys in Week 12 before being let down by his special teams, then pulled off another last-minute win with a late drive to beat the Eagles in Week 16.
He followed a walk-off drive in overtime to beat the Falcons in Week 17 with a four-minute drive that ate up clock and set up the Commanders for a winning field goal in the wild-card win over the Buccaneers. Oh, and while it didn’t include a dramatic ending, Daniels just played a nearly perfect game in scoring 38 points and knocking the top-seeded Lions out of the playoffs.
Other excellent rookies have their own stories. Washington was in a similarly dreary case when Griffin showed up. Sanders singlehandedly made Lions games watchable overnight. Lott was part of a historic improvement for the 49ers on defense. The Texans were floundering before Stroud and Will Anderson Jr. arrived last season. But I’m not sure anybody has turned around a franchise and their hopes as a rookie quite as significantly and quickly as Daniels has.
What does all of that mean in...
