Add another achievement to Jayden Daniels’ remarkable rookie season.
The Washington Commanders quarterback is fresh off a regular season that some are touting as the greatest ever by a rookie. Now he’s the most productive rookie quarterback in playoff history.
Daniels entered Sunday’s NFC championship game against the Philadelphia Eagles five yards short of the record for most passing yards by a rookie in the playoffs. He got there early.
Daniels’ first pass of the day was for a 3-yard gain to tight end Zach Ertz. His second completion went for seven yards to Olamide Zaccheaus to gain a first down near midfield on third-and-6.
The completion put Daniels at 577 yards this postseason, surpassing Russell Wilson, who threw for 572 yards as a rookie for the Seattle Seahawks in 2012. Wilson reached that number in two games, with 187 yards in a wild-card win over Washington and 385 yards passing in a divisional-round loss to the Atlanta Falcons.
Daniels threw for 268 yards in Washington’s wild-card win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, then passed for 299 yards in Washington’s divisional-round upset of the Detroit Lions. His record-clinching pass to Zaccheaus on Sunday kept alive an 18-play opening drive for the Commanders that ended in a field goal for a 3-0 lead.
Daniels’ postseason follows up a regular season in which he led Washington to a 12-5 record as the clear-cut favorite to win Offensive Rookie of the Year. He completed 69% of his passes for 209.9 yards per game with 25 touchdowns and nine interceptions while adding 891 yards and six touchdowns on the ground.
With Daniels at quarterback in the postseason, Washington advanced to its first NFC championship game appearance since the 1991 season.
