All season long, head coach Dan Quinn and his staff preached the importance of playing complementary football. There were moments when the message stuck, at least temporarily, but it seems to have finally clicked at the right moment.
With two of the league’s best offenses squaring off, it was expected to be a night for both offenses to shine. In that regard, it lived up to the hype. The two units combined for 1,002 yards of offense, 57 first downs and 76 points on 141 plays. Most of that came in the first half, marking the first time two teams combined for at least 600 yards in two quarters since Super Bowl LII.
What wasn’t expected was for Washington’s defense to swing the momentum in Washington’s favor not just once but several times. They forced Jared Goff to commit four turnovers, including a fumble and an interception returned for a touchdown and grabbed another pass from Jameson Williams on a trick play. Washington scored points off three of those turnovers.
However, Daniels remained the star for the Commanders as he has been all season. He completed 70% of his passes for 299 yards and two touchdowns with 51 yards on 16 carries. He added a couple more records to his already stacked case to be named the Offensive Rookie of the Year. With his 350 total yards, he has the most total yardage by a rookie in a single season, including the playoffs, in NFL history. He now has 14 wins, which ties Ben Roethlisberger for the most by a rookie in NFL history.