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'Terminator' Daniels on brink of NFL history with one win to go; can end Washington's Super Bowl appearance drought

Jan 26, 2025 05:52 PM IST

Jayden Daniels, the 2023 Heisman trophy winner, was taken with the second overall pick in last year's draft by the Washington Commanders.

Rookie Jayden Daniels has stamped his authority in the National Football League (NFL) in his maiden season, taking the perennial strugglers Washington Commanders to the NFC championship game. Now he is just one win away from creating history in the league.

Jayden Daniels #5 of the Washington Commanders celebrates with Terry McLaurin #17 after defeating the Detroit Lions 45-31 in the NFC Divisional Playoff at Ford Field on January 18, 2025 in Detroit, Michigan.(AFP)
Jayden Daniels #5 of the Washington Commanders celebrates with Terry McLaurin #17 after defeating the Detroit Lions 45-31 in the NFC Divisional Playoff at Ford Field on January 18, 2025 in Detroit, Michigan.(AFP)

If Daniels can help lift the conference title against the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday, he will be the first rookie quarterback in the history of the NFL to play the ultimate game, the Super Bowl.

His rivals, the Eagles, are themselves strong Super Bowl contenders, and have been in the last few years. If Jalen Hurts and co. make it on Sunday, it will be their second Super Bowl appearance in three seasons. But he is just having fun.

"I just think, for me, football is just fun, and it’s like a safe haven for me, everything that I’ve been through personally in my life, so I’m not really going out there and stressing about the moment. Because at the end of the day, I get to do what I love,” a news agency AFP report quoted Daniels as saying at a press conference on Wednesday.

Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels reacts during NFL football practice on Friday.(AP)
Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels reacts during NFL football practice on Friday.(AP)

Daniels, the 2023 Heisman trophy winner, was taken with the second overall pick in last year's draft by the Commanders. Since then, he has electrified the NFL, becoming an instant star in a league where quarterbacks usually have to bide their time before reaching the summit.

The Commanders beat their NFC championship game rivals 36-33 just four weeks ago, ending their 10-game winning streak, with Daniels orchestrating the game-winning drive in a game that went down to the wire.

That was a performance that epitomised the composed way in which Daniels has taken to the high-octane environment of the NFL.

Another stat that shows how clutch Daniels has been this season is that he produced 12 touchdown passes in the fourth quarter or overtime in the regular season, winning games that went down to the wire. That is the most of any rookie quarterback this year. No doubt his head coach calls him ‘the Terminator’.

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Jayden Daniels the ‘Terminator'

The Washington Commanders head coach Dan Quinn just this week called Jayden Daniels the ‘Terminator’, saying he has the rare in-the-game moments during the mental chaos of the last two minutes.

"He is the Terminator. He's got rare in-the-moment skills that have allowed us to be in this spot. When it's mental chaos going down and two minutes, and in these tight moments where it could feel that tight, he's got the experience of somebody that's played a lot more football than a first-year player," Quinn said about QB.

The Commanders last appeared in the conference championship game during the 1991 season. It was also the last time they won the Super Bowl. In the 32 years since then, the team tried 35 different quarterbacks.

From being adjudged the best player in college football just last year to being named Rookie of the Year by the PFWA, Daniels has finally given the team, formerly known as the Washington Redskins, the joy of their first playoff win since 2005.

In the regular season, he completed 331 of 480 passes, sixth best in the NFL, for 3,568 yards, 25 touchdowns, nine interceptions, ranking him seventh in the NFL for quarterback rating.

He also had 148 rush attempts for 891 yards, second-most among NFL quarterbacks including six rushing touchdowns. Two more wins and he will be a Commanders legend for life, forever etched in the NFL folklore.

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