ClutchPoints
The Washington Commanders hope to have running back Brian Robinson Jr. back in the mix while quarterback Jayden Daniels continues to assault defenses with athleticism and sharp mental processing. With the Panthers up next, here are bold predictions for the Week 7 contest.
While the Commanders’ defense seems to have a long way to go, the offense has been hitting on most cylinders throughout the season. Even in last week’s loss to the Ravens, the Commanders put up 305 total yards despite owning only 24 minutes of possession. The potent Ravens offense had 484 yards in 36 minutes for 13.4 per minute while the Commanders had a comparable 12.7 average.
This week, the Commanders face a Panthers’ defensive unit that has surrendered 380 yards per game for 29th in the NFL. The Panthers are No. 23 against the pass and No. 30 versus the run. They’ve given up 33.8 points per contest for dead last.
With the Panthers struggling against both the run and pass, the door is wide open for Daniels to hit big plays through either avenue. The benefactor through the air should be receiver Terry McLaurin, who reeled in a 55-yard catch from Daniels in Week 3 against the Bengals that drew rave reviews from head coach Dan Quinn. The Commanders head coach said Daniels causing hesitation in defenses and create big plays off of it, according to commanders.com.
“Yeah, it’s both things,” Quinn said. “I was pleased to see … specifically on the deep ball that we had to (McLaurin) and (Daniels) remaining a passer, staying alive and then absolutely throwing a dime on the run. That is, to me, when the whole thing comes together. Because I think early in the season that may have been one where he got outside the pocket and made somebody miss and gained some yards, but not 55 of them.”
Quinn said Daniels is opening eyes daily with the Commanders, according to the Commanders’ YouTube page via athlon sports.
“For me, getting a chance to be around excellent quarterbacks and seeing what it looks like and knowing that we have an excellent quarterback here, it’s fantastic,” Quinn said. “I would say the common thread on that is relentless work ethics and I’ve seen it with Jayden. Going back through Dak (Prescott) and Matt (Ryan). That is a trait that definitely sticks out to me. There’s just so much preparation that can go (into) finding the right balance of decision-making, competing, making the plays go. That is a trait that sticks out to me. There’s just so much preparation. I love Jayden and what he brings to us. I can’t wait to see him grow, man. He is absolutely relentless about it.”
Daniels said the Commanders won’t take the this opponent for granted, according to Sports Illustrated.
“For us, we just got to go out there and play our game and execute,” said...
