Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Jalon Daniels fooled the Kansas City Chiefs late in a 16-15 preseason victory on Saturday.
Daniels drew the Chiefs offsides on a third down with a yard to go at a critical point in the game. On a night where the undrafted free agent led two scoring drives, he made that call himself on the key third down play.
“I literally came into the huddle and said ‘All right, guys, we’ve got a third-and-1 right here. We’re going to try to be able to get them to jump offsides,'” Daniels told reporters via FOX Sports’ Greg Auman. “That’s exactly why you see the excitement from me as soon as they jumped offsides.”
Daniels looked stellar overall with 9-14 passing for 71 yards and a touchdown. He also rushed for 19 yards on seven carries.
Buccaneers running back Sean Tucker scored a 1-yard rushing touchdown on Daniels’ second scoring drive. That put the Buccaneers ahead to stay in the fourth quarter and added to head coach Todd Bowles’ confidence in Daniels.
“He did a good job … second week in a row,” Bowles told reporters afterward via WFLA’s Aileen Hnatiuk. “He has a lot to learn but he goes out there and makes things happen and gives us a chance to win.”
Buccaneers CB, Former Jalon Daniels Rival Says it All
Buccaneers cornerback Jacob Parrish once went up against Daniels in college. Parrish played for Kansas State and Daniels played for Kansas.
“He’s a dude,” Parrish told Pewter Report.
At Kansas, Daniels threw for 9,282 yards and 67 touchdowns versus 31 interceptions in six seasons. Daniels also rushed for 1,445 yards and 23 touchdowns on 420 carries for the Jayhawks.
He’s an athletic dual-threat quarterback, and he’s honing in on the backup quarterback job behind Baker Mayfield. The Buccaneers starter played sparingly with 2-4 passing for 10 yards.
“I’ve been dreaming to be in this position,” Daniels said.
Buccaneers QB Jake Browning on Competition
It’s looking possible that Daniels will push veteran Jake Browning for the second quarterback spot, but Browning isn’t overly concerned.
“It comes with the territory. I’m not unfamiliar with competition. It’s not my job to worry about that stuff,” Browning said afterward via Auman.
Browning went 8-11 for 84 yards, but he took three sacks for 22 yards lost. He also rushed for 14 yards on two carries.
The former Cincinnati Bengals backup quarterback has been reliable over the years behind Bengals star Joe Burrow, but that wasn’t the case last season. Browning struggled when Burrow was injured with turf toe, and the Bengals signed Joe Flacco to get by without Burrow.
The Buccaneers will need to assess if Browning will bounce back from a disappointing 2025 season and succeed as Mayfield’s primary backup. Browning has 2,707 yards passing and 18 touchdowns versus 15 interceptions in 17 games played during his career.
He has 10 career starts and a 4-6 record in those starts, but all four of those wins came in 2023. The Buccaneers signed Browning this year in hopes to find the equivalent of his 2023 performance if needed.
Daniels in the meantime might have something to say about that with his strong start in the preseason.
Buccaneers QB Jalon Daniels Makes Revealing Comment After Win vs. Chiefs