In his NFL debut last week, Washington Commanders rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels surprised his coaches in the first quarter when he audibled out of a third-down screen pass. Instead of playing it safe, Daniels threw deep to wide receiver Dyami Brown down the sideline for a 42-yard completion.
During the game, right guard Sam Cosmi and others were the first to say Daniels called an audible. After the game, head coach Dan Quinn made a Top Gun reference regarding Daniels’ decision.
“I thought of Top Gun,” Quinn said. “‘Do I have permission to buzz the tower? No, ghost rider, the pattern is full.’ And, so, I think on that one, he wanted to ask for forgiveness and not permission and then throw an absolute dime over the top to Dyami to go. So, it was a really cool play. I think it probably illustrates for him the awareness and checks and things that go into it. So, yeah, he did not ask for permission, so he went ahead and buzzed the tower anyway.”
During Saturday’s game against the Dolphins, Daniels again worried his coach. On one play in the first half, Daniels took the ball and ran into incoming defenders, picking up extra yardage when Quinn and the Commanders would have preferred he slide or head out of bounds before taking a hit.
Here’s the play: watch Daniels and Quinn.
Jayden Daniels immediately turned to Dan Quinn on the sideline after running for 13 yards and not sliding. He knew. 😂 pic.twitter.com/g0unNTxMbo
— Nicki Jhabvala (@NickiJhabvala) August 18, 2024
Daniels was fine. However, one of the knocks on Daniels ahead of the NFL draft was his propensity to take big hits and his slight frame. Washington doesn’t want its young quarterback to put himself in danger and take any unnecessary shots.
After the game, Quinn made another famous reference when discussing his star quarterback.
“Double secret probation,” Quinn joked after the game. “I thought he had another really good outing, honestly. I don’t know passing-wise what it was, but the accuracy, decision-making of where to go, he really is a unique competitor. And uh, so, but yes, he was definitely in trouble again with the head coach.”
Top Gun last week, Animal House this week?
“That’s exactly right, but he does not have a 0.0 grade-point average; I can absolutely assure you of that.”
Quinn then asked reporters if it came across on TV where he told Daniels to get down, and they responded yes, it did.
Here’s Quinn:
Dan Quinn says Jayden Daniels now on “double secret probation” for not getting out of bounds or sliding on that 13 yard run. We’ve gone from Top Gun references to Animal House. pic.twitter.com/PxlrcbO9TA
— JP Finlay (@JPFinlayNBCS) August 18, 2024
And in case you’ve never seen Animal House:
Quinn is having some fun with Daniels and the local media. However, he’s serious about Daniels protecting himself, something the young quarterbacks understands.
