ASHBURN, Va. — The Commanders are atop the NFC East Standings after three straight victories, including the last two, on the road. Washington returns to Northwest Stadium Sunday to host the 1-3 Browns.
Jayden Daniels will play on his home turf for the first time since Sept. 15 and he'll be bringing a bunch of hardware for his return. So far, the rookie has won 75% of the NFL's Rookie of the Week awards and Thursday was named the Offensive Rookie of the Month.
The coaching staff says Daniels’ success starts with his routine and preparation week to week. Some of the early success also might have to do with the relationship he’s built with offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury who says the most exciting thing about his quarterback is the way he prepares.
"That first game, we didn't play as well, and he showed up at the same time and worked just as hard as he has on the games that we've had success," said Kingsbury. "That's who he is. He wants to be great. He's paying the price to be great."
Early on, Daniels owns the highest completion percentage in the NFL by a long shot, connecting on over 82% of his passes. He’s only turned the ball over once, an interception in Arizona.
Head coach Dan Quinn said making Daniels comfortable on the field started right after he was drafted.
"We actually had some that were some of his favorite concepts from LSU and we started from there," said Quinn. "That was 100% from Kliff to say, ‘hey, what are some ones that coming out of bed, you want this play called and you know it like the back of your hand?’"
Kingsbury admitted that the coaching staff put a lot on Daniels' plate early on, but said he's handling it all well.
"He continues to ... play at a high level and it’s because of his preparation and the time he puts in," the offensive coordinator said. "We’re going to have bumps in the road and we’re going to have ups and downs, but he’s put in the work week in and week out."
Kingsbury, who was formerly the head coach of the Arizona Cardinals, implemented a similar plan with former first overall pick and Heisman winner Kyler Murray who played at the University of Oklahoma.
"I went through that with Kyler when we first had him. Just saying, hey we’re going to get stuff in that he’s comfortable with that will allow him to play fast and play at a high level," said Kingsbury. "I learned some lessons from that and just try to be better this time around installing with him.”
From Daniels' perspective, Kingsbury is very open minded about finding the right play fits.
"Anything he feels is going to work, he’ll try it out man," the quarterbck said. "Kudos to Kliff for being selfless. He could be that kind of person like, man this is my system, this is how we’re going to run it, this is how we’re going to do things, but nah. He just gives us the freedom to go out there and play ball.”