Commanders Rookie QB Compared to 5-Time MVP Manning

Getty Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels.

There’s a lot of buzz around the hot start of Washington Commanders rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels, who has his team off to a 3-1 start and is playing the position as good as almost anyone in the NFL headed into Week 5.

Daniels’ start to the season has been nothing short of historic, and it’s put his name alongside some of the greatest individual performances — and quarterbacks — in NFL history at this point in the year.

“Seven-time Super Bowl champion (Tom) Brady boasted the highest completion percentage after four games, from a minimum 75 pass attempts, in NFL history,” Heavy.com’s James Dudko wrote on Sept. 29. “At least he did until Daniels completed 26 of 30 passes during the Commanders’ 42-14 blowout win over the Arizona Cardinals at State Farm Stadium … The impressive stat line gave Daniels a superior completion percentage to the mark Brady set for the 18-1 New England Patriots back in 2007, per ESPN’s SportsCenter.”

While Daniels may have broken Brady’s record, it’s another quarterback from the recent past who his play is being compared to the most — 5-time NFL Most Valuable Player and 2-time Super Bowl champion Peyton Manning.

“I mean, listen, the guy, he’s been compared to Peyton Manning, Jayden Daniels is, and that offense is being compared to (the 2007 Patriots) with like two points per drive or whatever it ends up being,” Sal Iacono said on The Bill Simmons Podcast following the win over the Cardinals. “It’s just insanity, what we’re seeing out of that.”

Iacono — better known as Cousin Sal — wasn’t the only one to name-check Manning after the win.

“I think the key here is that what we’re seeing out of Jayden Daniels is the real thing,” Kevin Clark said on the This is Football With Kevin Clark on Sept. 30. “This is him and he’s arrived and you can’t do this unless you’re great … what (Patrick) Mahomes was great at the first year he was a starter was he pushed the ball down the field without making mistakes. It’s very hard to do that.

“… Peyton Manning obviously was the king of it, certainly mid-career. But that’s what Jayden Daniels is doing. That’s not a fluke.”

Daniels, Manning Both Came From SEC Programs

One thing Daniels and Manning had in common headed into the NFL is they both came from SEC powerhouse programs. Daniels was the No. 2 overall pick out of LSU in the 2024 NFL draft and Manning was the No. 1 overall pick by the Indianapolis Colts out of Tennessee in the 1998 NFL draft.

While Manning set the NFL record for most passing touchdowns as a rookie (26) and led the NFL in pass attempts (575), he also led the NFL and set the rookie record in interceptions (28) as the Colts stumbled to a 3-13 record — the exact number of wins the Commanders have with one month of Daniels as the starting quarterback.

Manning and the Colts bounced back to go 13-3 in 1999 and he only had 2 losing records in 18 seasons as an NFL quarterback.

Commanders Have Favorable Schedule Coming Up

Of their next 5 games, only a trip to face the Baltimore Ravens on Oct. 13 looks like a test for the Commanders right now, with 3 home games against the Cleveland Browns (Oct. 6), Carolina Panthers (Oct. 20), the Chicago Bears and 2024 No. 1. overall pick Caleb Williams Oct. 27) and a road game at the New York Giants (Nov. 3).

The Commanders haven’t finished the season with a winning record since 2015 and haven’t won a playoff game since 2005.