Two of the last five Heisman Trophy winners are LSU quarterbacks — [autotag]Jayden Daniels[/autotag] and [autotag]Joe Burrow[/autotag]. And when two squared off for the first time on Monday night, it was the rookie Daniels coming out on top.
Daniels was nearly perfect. He completed 21 of 23 passes for 254 yards and two scores. He picked up six on the ground too, giving him more touchdowns than he had incompletions. His passer rating was 141.7, not far off from a perfect rating of 158.3.
The moment of the night came late in the fourth. Facing a third and seven at the Bengals 27, Daniels delivered a touchdown strike to Terry McLaurin to go up 38-26. The score all but sealed the win for the Commanders.
Burrow wasn’t too shabby either, throwing for 324 yards and three touchdowns. He averaged 8.5 yards per attempt and didn’t turn it over.
LSU QBs dueling it out like this in the NFL was unheard of five years ago. For most of the 21st century, the narrative at LSU was one of failing to develop QBs.
That all changed when Burrow arrived in 2018 and was further solidified by Daniels’ Heisman performance in 2023. Now, [autotag]Garrett Nussmeier[/autotag] is continuing the trend, and LSU hopes [autotag]Bryce Underwood[/autotag], 2025’s top QB recruit, will do the same.
As for Daniels, his NFL future looks bright. He’s now the favorite to win Rookie of the Year. Through three games, Daniels is completing over 80% of his passes with five total touchdowns.
According to ESPN, he’s posted a 67.9 QBR, good enough to rank in the top 10 in the NFL.
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