There were some concerns when the Washington Commanders hired Kliff Kingsbury as the team’s offensive coordinator in February. But, instead of being a head coach, Kingsbury would only coach the quarterbacks, design the offense and call plays. Those were considered his specialties.
Some didn’t believe Kingsbury was the right coach for a rookie quarterback because of concerns regarding his offensive scheme, particularly pass protection. There were also questions on whether Kingsbury would move Terry McLaurin around the line of scrimmage pre-snap, including motioning him, to put him in the best position to make plays.
The Commanders kicked off the 2024 season on Sunday, falling 37-20 to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels completed 17 of 24 passes for 184 yards. Daniels also carried the ball 16 times for 88 yards and two touchdowns.
All things considered, it wasn’t a bad debut for Daniels, especially when you compare him to the other rookie starting quarterbacks from Week 1.
Kingsbury’s game plan for Daniels was simple. He would focus on Daniels getting rid of the ball quickly to avoid taking big hits and allow Washington’s skill players to make plays after the catch.
Here’s the problem: Daniels ran the ball 16 times. Yes, Daniels is a dynamic quarterback, but he should never carry the ball 16 times. Sure, several of those carries were scrambles from Daniels when receivers weren’t open down the field. Yet, late in the game, with Washington down 37-14 with 1:38 to go, Kingsbury calls for Daniels, who isn’t built like Jalen Hurts or Josh Allen, to carry the ball into the end zone.
He did, but his helmet popped off in the meantime, and officials ruled that he hadn’t broken the plane of the goal line. On the next play, Kingsbury calls for running back Brian Robinson Jr. to carry the ball, which he does for no gain. On third-and-goal, Kingsbury again has Daniels sneak the ball into the end zone. He scored. Suddenly, it’s 37-20—and the game is still over.
Why is Kingsbury running Daniels late when the outcome has already been decided? It’s a questionable decision, especially when two plays earlier, Daniels’ helmet popped off for the second time in the game.
What this looked like was a frustrated offensive coordinator. Nothing was going right for him in his first game with a new team, and he was desperate to score, so he called his dynamic quarterback’s number to get a meaningless score late in the game.
While there’s nothing wrong with that, he must be aware of protecting Daniels. It’s contradictory when you call quick passes to keep Daniels from holding the ball too long to avoid hits but then call so many running plays for him, including those late when the game is all but over.
Kingsbury must find ways to get the ball in the hands of McLaurin, Austin Ekeler, Zach Ertz and others. He can’t allow himself to overuse Daniels as a runner when things aren’t going right elsewhere.
Almost nothing went right for the Commanders in Week 1. They’ll have a chance to get on track against the New York Giants in Week 2, but it won’t be easy. The Giants swept the Commanders last season.