Washington Commanders offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury and quarterback Jayden Daniels are working together well.
Daniels struggled in his first game at Tampa Bay, not seeing the field well and taking off to run too often. The Bucs were in a soft prevent, permitting Daniels to go 5-5 on his final possession, padding his stats, but better things were to come.
In Week 2, against the Giants, Daniels again ran too often in the first half, not seeing the field, and then he got nailed! Daniels was on the turf, having had the win knocked out of him.
The Jayden Daniels of the second half was the beginning of what we saw Monday night in Cincinnati. Daniels began to see the field better and make some downfield throws, and the Commanders never punted in a 21-18 win over the Giants.
Against the Bengals, Daniels was moving out of the pocket but now looking down field more, completing passes. In fact, he completed 21 of 23 passes, including completions of 55, 30, and 27 yards.
Kingsbury was criticized following the first game and, though less so after the second game, for his conservative passes being called repeatedly for Daniels. But Kingsbury was correct to do this because Daniels was not seeing the field well and was running too often.
Teams will not be able to sit on early routes all the time now. Daniels believes he can go deep in the NFL. The offensive line has protected well, and yes, by design Kingsbury also had drawn up max protection on the touchdown pass to McLaurin.
Kingsbury also has very well-designed screens and short passes to Austin Ekeler. But Ekeler is out with a concussion, and Kingsbury and Daniels will miss him.
So, what will Kingsbury draw up for the Commanders offense this week against the Cardinals? Will Jeremy McNichols be called upon in the passing game to help in the absence of Ekeler?
Honestly, Kingsbury has probably shown he is not going to be the issue on Sunday. The concern is going to be the Commanders’ game plan and execution of that plan on the defensive side of the ball going against Kyler Murray, Marvin Harrison, and the Cardinals.