OPINION:
Yes, the Washington Commanders lost, 31-17, to the Cincinnati Bengals in preseason “Monday Night Football” at Northwest Stadium.
But that’s the illusion of preseason football, which has all the credibility of professional wrestling. A loss can be a win. A highlight reel play can be a horror show coming attraction.
And the only part of the game that truly mattered to Washington fans was the few minutes quarterback Jayden Daniels was on the field — a handful of plays in the first quarter.
He threw just one pass — and it didn’t even show up in the box score. Daniels tossed an underhand five-yard pass to rookie running back Jacory Croskey-Merritt, the seventh-round draft pick who scored his first touchdown on a 27-yard run — not in play, but after the score when Daniels ran to get the ball for Croskey-Merritt so the rookie would have his first NFL touchdown ball.
I suspect Croskey-Merritt will collect many more before he is done, and they won’t be preseason souvenirs.
Commanders fans likely left Northwest Stadium on Monday night pleased even though their team lost, because in the brief time the first-team offense was on the field, it was explosive — and Daniels, last season’s NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year, never threw a game pass.
It was a running festival that would have made Joe Gibbs and the Hogs proud. The right side of the offensive line — tight end John Bates, rookie right tackle Josh Conerly and guard Andrew Wylie — plowed over the Bengals first-team defense (albeit without their best player, Trey Hendrickson).
Newcomer Deebo Samuel had one carry for 19 yards. Chris Rodriguez peeled off a 40-yard run. There was Croskey-Merritt’s touchdown run. And on another drive, Daniels pulled the ball down for a 14-yard run, breaking tackles along the way instead of sliding when he was at risk in a meaningless preseason game.
And there was a celebration when there should have been trepidation.
“Yeah, wanted to throw the corner route to C-Rod (Chris Rodriguez),” Daniels told reporters after the game. “It was man coverage, and I was late over the middle to Deebo. And then after that, my instincts kind of just took over.”
It was exciting. It was also alarming that, now a second-year quarterback, Daniels’ instincts weren’t to protect himself for when that touchdown meant something.
“I’m playing football,” Daniels said. “I’m out there … at the end of the day, it’s a game to me, whether preseason, regular season or playoffs. I had the opportunity to score. Other people probably didn’t like it, but, hey, it is what it is.”
I don’t think head coach Dan Quinn was crazy about it. Daniels never saw the field after that without having one game pass attempt, so I’m not sure what Washington accomplished there with their starting quarterback, other than giving people a reason to show up for the opening game against the New York Giants on Sept. 7.
When Daniels was asked if anyone said anything to him about not sliding, he answered, “They took me out after that, so.”
That response would indicate Daniels expected to be back out there on the field for more work — the only game work he is expected to get before the Giants opener.
Quinn tapdanced around why Daniels didn’t come back to play.
“You go through it, he gets more than 50% you know of everything you know, going into it,” he said. “So, we’re still, you know, obviously digging in it at the third quarterback spot with Josh (Johnson) and Sam (Hartman). So, I knew I wanted reps for them, and if we could get quarters to do it, I was going into it with Jayden, you know, one or two series. And so, I thought that would that was good for me.”
The coach grabbed Daniels when he came off the field and lifted him in the air — possibly to avoid choking him.
Asked about Daniels’ failure to slide, Quinn answered, “You think those conversations haven’t already been told? It’s part of his game, and it is what makes him a special player. When the second play begins, you know, there’s just an unusual play-making ability that takes place. Sometimes it’s with his legs, other times it’s with his arm. But it is part of who he is. But, it is one of the things we worked on to say, when you take your shots and when you go. There’ll be more of that. You know, at times, sometimes I’ll say less of that.”
I get running is part of Daniels’ game and that he is a special player. He is the sun that all Commanders planets revolve around. But you should also expect maturity to be part of his game in his second year and a recognition of circumstances and surroundings.
You can’t argue with this, though: He is fun to watch, isn’t he?
• Catch Thom Loverro on “The Kevin Sheehan Show” podcast.