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Poise, unreal game prep and poking a GOAT: How Washington knew Jayden Daniels was special from the start
ASHBURN, Va. -- Back in the spring, well before Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels had been named the team's starter, veteran teammates such as tight end Zach Ertz and wide receiver Terry McLaurin had a feeling the rookie would excel in the NFL.
By the end of training camp, they were certain.
"I was telling everyone that would listen how good he would be," Ertz said. "Just something got me really excited. I knew there would be some growing pains, but his ability to work and his humility to get better is what sets him apart."
Now, the rest of the NFL is catching up.
Daniels has been a transformational player for the Commanders this season, helping the franchise rebound from a 4-13 campaign in 2023 to a 14-5 record (including the playoffs) and playing in its first NFC Championship Game since the 1991 season. And if they can beat the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday (3:30 p.m. ET, Fox), he will become the first rookie QB to start in a Super Bowl.
During the regular season, Daniels ranked fourth in QBR, behind MVP front-runners Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson and Joe Burrow. Over his two postseason games, he has the highest Total QBR (86.8), throwing for 567 yards passing and four touchdowns and amassing another 87 yards rushing while fueling Washington to road upsets over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and top-seeded Detroit Lions in the wild-card and divisional rounds, respectively.
Teammates, coaches and members of the organization say Daniels' on-field success was sowed by what he has shown them behind the scenes since his arrival. They've observed a diligent student who loves to prepare, an inquisitive mind with attention to detail uncommon for rookie QBs, an instinctual leader, a cool head who embraces -- and excels in -- big moments and a competitor who's also able to have fun in any situation.
During a minicamp session in June, McLaurin -- who had played with 10 different starting quarterbacks in Washington from 2019 to 2023 -- was asked about Daniels. He beamed as he spoke about the rookie's preparation and desire for extra reps after practice.
A day later, as McLaurin warmed up on the sideline before practice, a reporter told the six-year pro that he had never looked or sounded so enthusiastic about a quarterback.
"He's the real deal," McLaurin said.
SHORTLY AFTER THE organized team activities began in late May, Ertz had seen enough of Daniels to make a bold comparison.
"I compared him to Andrew Luck, which is the ultimate compliment," Ertz said.
Luck, the former No. 1 overall pick in 2012 who was tabbed as a generational quarterback prospect, played with Ertz at Stanford.
"Andrew had a gravitational pull. Guys just wanted to be around him," Ertz said. "He just wanted to be one of the guys and Jayden is very similar. Guys just want to be around him because he doesn't view himself as anyone other than one of the guys.
"His approach to the game has really been different compared to a lot of people I've been around. A lot of times when you're young there's a lot of trial and error and oftentimes, you're reactionary in terms of how your process is: 'After I fail a couple times maybe I'll do X, Y and Z more.' Whereas Jayden from the moment he first got here he was the first one in the building studying as much as possible."
Washington's plan in the spring was to have Daniels earn the starting job through his preparation, habits and play throughout the offseason program. As a result, Daniels worked with the second unit while veteran Marcus Mariota took snaps as the starter.
But for Ertz, it was clear early Daniels would be QB1 when the 2024 season started (the Commanders made it official on Aug. 19). Daniels' eagerness to learn stood out. The rookie was constantly talking to veterans during practice, from Ertz to McLaurin to 11-time All-Pro linebacker Bobby Wagner, peppering them with questions.
Anticipating Daniels' eventual promotion, Ertz said he began asking to run with the second-team offense in two-minute drills to get more time -- and a head start -- with Washington's future quarterback.
"The physical tools stood out immediately," Ertz said, "the way the ball popped out of his hands. [But] it was the stuff that not everyone sees that stuck out the most."
Washington guard Sam Cosmi saw it too. When he signed a four-year, $74 million extension days before the season started, he cited Daniels as one of the reasons he was thrilled to have his future tied to the franchise.
"We got a special, special dude," Cosmi said in September. "That makes me excited to be here."
Daniels got the coaching staff's attention early as well. During a rookie minicamp session in early May, passing game coordinator Brian Johnson was left in awe as he watched Daniels operate in practice.
"He came out here and it was like bang, bang, bang, bang," Johnson said. "Just completion after completion and the ball didn't hit the ground. He had the install completely dialed and locked in. You become impressed, not only by the results [but] by the work and the action. It's not what you say, it's what you do -- and he goes out there and does it every single day."
Daniels has continued his impressive displays to teammates throughout the season. During a late November practice, safety Jeremy Reaves played a coverage in a way that surprised Daniels. After practice, Daniels asked Reaves why he had done it that way, and, "Do I need to do better with my eyes here? From a concept standpoint how can we make it [better]?"
"It's refreshing," Reaves said. "You don't see that a lot."
Ertz agreed.
"I've been around high draft picks -- they feel they have all the answers," Ertz said. "Jayden was the complete opposite. He's asking me about certain plays, why I ran a certain route this time, how could the timing be a little better. It was the humility that stood out to me."
IN WEEK 5 against the Cleveland Browns, McLaurin finished with four catches for 112 yards. But up 31-6 in the third quarter, he couldn't hang onto a pass in the corner of the end zone. It was not officially ruled a drop, but McLaurin considered it one and he had already fumbled that quarter.
It bothered him on the bench, and Daniels noticed.
"I expect a lot of myself," McLaurin said. "He came over to me and sat down and talked to me and was like, 'First of all, we're winning. You're playing great. You're going to make that play nine times out of 10. We trust you and I trust you, so I'm going to continue to come back to you and don't sweat the small mishaps.'"
Later in the season against Atlanta, McLaurin was held to one catch for five yards. Again, Daniels noticed. And again, after throwing a third-quarter touchdown pass to Ertz, Daniels ran over to McLaurin and said, "Hey, look at me. Stay in it. You're going to make a play."
McLaurin found opportunities to reciprocate. One week after beating the Browns, Washington lost at Baltimore 30-23. A visibly angry Daniels sat on a cooler next to the bench as the Ravens ran out the clock -- it was a look McLaurin had not previously seen from the QB.
"I've never seen a quarterback that upset after a game," McLaurin said. "He wasn't throwing his helmet, he wasn't cussing anybody out, but you could see how mad and frustrated he was. That spoke to me. You could tell how much he cares. ... I told him, 'I love seeing that in you; don't ever lose that fire of hating to lose a game. That's what's going to make you different.'"
Daniels also has the ability to build relationships, which has especially been evident with Wagner -- a Super Bowl champ and future Hall of Famer. The two developed a bond early on; Daniels talked often with veterans but became closer with the former leader of Seattle's "Legion of Boom" defense.
The ease with which Daniels developed a rapport with such a star veteran was uncommon for a rookie, teammates and coaches said. They sit together front and center in team meetings. They also bicker like siblings, with Daniels unafraid to needle the 13-year pro who is 10 years his senior.
In a news conference earlier this month, Daniels began an answer about Wagner by saying, "He's annoying" before praising Wagner's leadership.
When asked what was annoying about Wagner, Daniels deadpanned to reporters, "Everything."
On New Year's Day, Wagner was asked about having Daniels and other rookies on their leadership committee. As he started to answer, Daniels walked past and said, "Shut up, Bobby."
"See, I'm trying to give him a compliment and on cue he just messes it up," Wagner said.
Daniels walked past again, and Wagner yelled to him, "Pull your pants up."
The reply: "Bobby Wagner's annoying."
"This is how we're starting the new year off," Wagner said.
DANIELS ARRIVES AT the Commanders' facility between 5 and 5:30 a.m. every Wednesday through Friday during the season to begin working on the game plan for the upcoming opponent.
Daniels spends around 30 minutes watching film, sometimes alone in the quarterbacks meeting room and other times on his iPad while soaking in the hot tub. Then, around 6 a.m., Daniels, Kingsbury and quarterbacks coach Tavita Pritchard head over to the practice bubble to walk through the approximately 60 to 70 plays on the game plan list for that week.
"I mean, 6 a.m. is early for a younger cat," Kingsbury said, "[Daniels] wants to be there. That's the thing I appreciate. I've never once felt that energy [from him] like, 'Oh, here we go again.' It's like, 'Let's go!' And that to me is the most impressive thing I've seen so far is just the want to be great and the competitive stamina to be ... always open to learning."
Indeed, Daniels does preparation with Washington's virtual reality technology -- something he started his last year at LSU -- and work on the headset either before or after practice every day. But Kingsbury said, "He likes to be out there doing it, seeing it."
"The best lesson in life is failure," Daniels said of the extra reps the morning walk-throughs afford him. "So, I get to fail in those types of situations and move forward. So, by the time game time comes, I'm not thinking about [it], just going out there and playing."
To simulate game situations, Kingsbury calls in the plays with his phone, then runs routes. Daniels, wearing a helmet, gets the playcall through his AirPods before receiving the snap from Pritchard. Before the snap, Kingsbury tells Daniels what coverage he should expect and reminds him about his drops and reads. The goal, they say, is to paint a mental picture so Daniels can visualize what it would look like in a game.
Kingsbury is often the primary receiver. Sometimes he'll say he's covered so Daniels has to find his next read. The three men go over various in-game scenarios: 30 seconds left, need a touchdown, red zone work. They'll call out one-word plays that have multiple options and a specific snap count -- a two-word play, Taylor Swift, resulted in a touchdown pass to rookie Ben Sinnott earlier this year.
Kingsbury and Pritchard said Daniels rarely needs a reminder of his responsibility on a given play.
"He's had this material for less than 12 hours," Pritchard said. "He's really in tune with where we are already."
Daniels receives the game plan from the staff around 6 p.m. Tuesday, studies it for 90 minutes and often draws out the plays in a notebook.
"When I can get here in the morning, I'm able to go in there and kind of just walk through it and I'll visualize it, walk through this or the reads, footwork," he said, "and if I have any questions? Kliff and [Pritchard] are answering them right then and there."
Daniels' meticulous game prep doesn't end in the bubble. He texts Kingsbury about plays he's seen in other games or watched on YouTube. Kingsbury likes that the plays he sends match Washington's concepts.
On the morning of the season opener at Tampa Bay, Daniels asked Kingsbury for one more walk-through before heading to the stadium. So Kingsbury, Pritchard, assistant quarterbacks coach David Blough and quarterbacks Mariota and Jeff Driskel headed to a ballroom for one final round of mental reps. This scene has repeated itself every game-day morning since -- a routine Kingsbury said he's never seen before but helps explain what he's seen from Daniels' way of processing all along.
"His football knowledge is beyond what I think any rookie quarterback anybody could ever possibly expect it to be," Kingsbury said. "He'll bring up things and I'm like, 'Yeah, I didn't even think about that, but it's a valid point.' He'll make corrections on plays that I've designed, I'll f--- him up and he'll be like, 'No, no coach, you were on this side when we were doing our walk-through.' 'Really? Yeah. OK. You're right.'"
And a key part of that knowledge is homed in the bubble, ending around two and a half hours before the first team meeting of the day.
"All I know," one assistant coach said, "is that when I get here they're coming out of the bubble."
DANIELS HAS ALREADY become known for being a late-game hero. He has led six game-winning drives in the fourth quarter or overtime, which highlights the competitiveness and calmness under pressure teammates have seen from him all season.
There was the 27-yard pass to McLaurin in a Week 3 "Monday Night Football" win over Cincinnati with 2:17 left for a 38-26 lead. He led game-winning drives versus the New York Giants in Week 2; against Chicago in Week 8; against Philadelphia in Week 16; against Atlanta in Week 17; and at Tampa Bay in the wild-card playoff win on Jan. 12.
Daniels leads the NFL with six touchdown passes in the final four minutes of regulation (and posted a 95.6 quarterback rating).
"It's what you live for," he said. "I'm just competitive, man. I just want to win. I'm going to do whatever it takes to win."
During practices, Washington's quarterbacks will compete to see who the most accurate passer is while throwing into a net with three designated landing spots. On Fridays, they toss a ball from about 30 to 40 yards into a yellow garbage can positioned in the corner of the end zone. Afterward, Daniels and Blough play a game of horse with throws into the net.
"He likes to trash talk. He's got a good trash talk game. I'll give him that," Blough said. "I'm only 29, but he makes me feel like an old man sometimes and he can tell I don't have the same arm strength I used to and it's the reason I retired. He'll remind me of that."
The joy Daniels brings while competing shows itself in each game. Washington guard Nick Allegretti said sometimes he'll hear Daniels scream at the end of scrambles.
"It's the excitement to yell," Allegretti said. "It's like you're stealing yards, and it brings energy to the whole team. It definitely gives him juice. Whenever that happens the flow just starts to feel really, really good. He's cooking."
Teammates say Daniels is even-keeled in tense moments, which is a by-product, Daniels said, of all the work he's put in behind the scenes -- before the season and during.
After Washington beat Tampa Bay with a last-second field goal, Daniels sat stone-faced on the bench for a second, before standing up, smiling and then calmly walking to an interview.
"He has a very unique calmness about it," Johnson said. "A silent assassin."
A's add '89 Series MVP Stewart to front office
WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Former World Series MVP Dave Stewart is returning to the Athletics in a front office role.
The A's announced Wednesday that Stewart will be a special assistant to player development this season. Stewart will assist director of player development Ed Sprague in his new role.
Stewart spent eight seasons in his 16-year career with the A's when the team was in Oakland. He won the World Series MVP for the A's in 1989, was AL Championship Series MVP in 1990 and was inducted into the A's Hall of Fame in 2018.
Stewart had four straight 20-win seasons for the A's from 1987-90 and his No. 34 jersey was retired by the club.
Stewart worked in the A's front office as an assistant to GM Sandy Alderson in 1996. He spent two seasons as general manager for Arizona in 2015-16, has worked as an agent and has had time as a pitching and executive for several other teams.
Hewett into wheelchair singles and doubles finals
Britain's Alfie Hewett maintained his chances of an Australian Open clean sweep by reaching the wheelchair singles final before progressing to the doubles final with partner Gordan Reid.
The second seed will face world number one Tokito Oda, who he lost to in last year's final, on Saturday after beating Argentine Gustavo Fernandez 6-3 6-3 in the last four.
Later, Hewett and fellow Briton Reid beat Spaniard Martin de la Puente and Ruben Spaargaren of the Netherlands 6-4 6-4 in the doubles semi-finals.
Top seeds Hewett and Reid, who have won the past five Melbourne doubles titles together, face Spain's Daniel Caverzaschi and Stephane Houdet of France on Friday.
Elsewhere, Britain's Andy Lapthorne advanced to the final of the quad wheelchair doubles final alongside Dutch partner Sam Schroder.
The pair defeated Australian-Canadian duo Heath Davidson and Robert Shaw 6-1 6-2 and take on Guy Sasson of Israel and the Netherlands' Niels Vink on Friday.
In the women's wheelchair doubles, Briton Lucy Shuker and Japanese partner Yui Kamiji were beaten 7-5 6-1 in their semi-final by Chinese duo Li Xiaohui and Wang Ziying.
GB's Patten & Finn Heliovaara 'ride the wave' to reach Melbourne doubles final
Britain's Henry Patten and Finnish team-mate Harri Heliovaara came through a match tie-break to reach their first Australian Open men's doubles final together.
The Wimbledon champions held their nerve to beat Germany's Kevin Krawietz and Tim Puetz 6-4 3-6 7-6 (10-7).
It is a second major final for Patten and Heliovaara in just their fourth Grand Slam together, having first joined forces in April 2024.
The sixth seeds will face Italian third seeds Simone Bolelli and Andrea Vavassori in Saturday's final.
Patten, who had not gone beyond the third round at a Slam before partnering with Heliovaara, said: "I'm just trying to ride the wave. I can't stop smiling at the moment which, for people who know me, is pretty unusual.
"Usually I'm a classic grumpy Brit. I'm just trying to enjoy every moment and taking it all in with Harri."
Heliovaara stopped playing professionally between 2013 and 2017 because of an autoimmune disease that affects his spine, instead working in finance during that period.
Heliovaara said: "If you ask me five, six years ago if this was possible while I was making Powerpoints and Excel sheets in the office, I would have laughed.
"I haven't regretted a single day [of coming back]."
Sabalenka beats close friend Badosa to reach third Melbourne final
Badosa, having stunned American third seed Coco Gauff in the quarter-finals, benefitted in the early stages as a tense Sabalenka conceded an immediate break of serve with four unforced errors.
Badosa was within a point of taking a 3-0 lead before Sabalenka switched up a gear.
The three-time major winner then took charge, reeling off four games in a row and was unrelenting from there.
Despite their off-court relationship, both players gave little away, barely exchanging a glance as they stayed focused on their respective tasks.
But, in a rare glimpse into their friendship, they shared relieved smiles after Badosa fell at the start of the second set before raising a reassuring thumb as she lay on the court.
What started as a fiercely-contested match began to drift away from Badosa when she gifted Sabalenka control of set two, conceding a break of serve with back-to-back double faults
Another double fault in the fifth game gave Sabalenka a chance for a second break, which she grabbed with one of her 32 winners before serving out victory in one hour and 26 minutes.
Sabalenka, who was later seen consoling Badosa in the players' area, said: "It was a super tough match against a friend, I'm super happy to see her at her highest level.
"After a couple of battles against each other we have spoken and decided to put it aside, and here we both wanted it badly."
Diamond still positive despite Falcons' tough year
Diamond is referring to the demise of Worcester Warriors, London Irish and Wasps, who were not able to survive crippling financial problems.
In fact, he was director of rugby at Worcester when they went out of business in 2022.
Newcastle have been challenged financially, but they are still in the fight. Life is not easy as the Falcons battle against the odds, operating with a slimline squad on a much lower budget than the other nine Premiership clubs.
Their best players get picked off by rivals with loftier ambitions and deeper pockets, as shown by Argentina lock Pedro Rubiolo heading to Bristol Bears and, only this week, England wing Adam Radwan leaving immediately to go to Leicester Tigers.
There is a potential relegation play-off at the end of the season to preserve their Premiership status, and they were the only club not to secure a single point in the group stages of either the Champions Cup or the Challenge Cup.
But Diamond remains honest and upbeat about the challenges he faces at Kingston Park in rugby's most northerly outpost.
"I think I knew the job in hand and what I was coming into," he said.
"I am a positive force in the building, it's a great environment to work in, the players maintain a real professionalism about them even when the results don't go their way.
"The back office is in good spirits, too, so you wouldn't think it is a club that doesn't win many games.
"When the good times come, which they will, periods like the last 12 months will at least bring continuity."
NEWARK, N.J. -- The New Jersey Devils honored former coach Jacques Lemaire, inducting the 11-time Stanley Cup champion into the team's Ring of Honor.
The 79-year-old Lemaire, who coached the Devils to their first championship in 1995, was celebrated during a pregame ceremony before New Jersey's game against the Boston Bruins on Wednesday night.
He was joined at center ice by former players, including goaltender Martin Brodeur and defensemen Scott Stevens, Scott Niedermayer and Larry Robinson.
"I wouldn't have missed this for anything," said Robinson, who was Lemaire's teammate on the Montreal Canadiens for five Cup wins, served as an assistant on Devils in their 1995 title run and was head coach for their second championship team in 2000. "We both came up in a pretty successful organization in Montreal."
Lemaire won the Stanley Cup eight times with the Canadiens as a player and twice more as Montreal's assistant general manager. He was hired by the Devils before the 1993-94 season, almost a decade after he coached Montreal for a little more than one season in the mid-1980s.
New Jersey lost a seven-game conference final series to the Rangers in the 1994 playoffs before winning the Cup a year later with a four-game sweep of the Detroit Red Wings in the Final.
Lemaire said he was thrilled to see former players as well as Lou Lamoriello, with whom he still works. Lamoriello is president of hockey operations for the New York Islanders, where Lemaire is a special assignment coach.
Lemaire nodded toward Lamoriello during his short and emotional acceptance speech surrounded by his family.
"All the meetings we had, the hours we spent together, talking about players, the game and everything was for one goal only -- to get the team better so we could win a Stanley Cup," Lemaire said after he donned a bright red Devils jacket at center ice to mark the occasion.
Lemaire also coached the Minnesota Wild for the franchise's first eight seasons, then returned to the Devils for 2009-10 and the second half of the 2010-11 campaign. He finished his coaching career with 617 wins.
Lemaire emphasized that he certainly doesn't miss the daily grind and stress of coaching.
"I haven't lost a game since 2011,'' he said. "So I don't worry as much."
New Jersey Devils goaltender Jacob Markstrom is expected to miss time after leaving Wednesday night's 5-1 win over the Boston Bruins following a collision in the crease.
Markstrom collided with Boston forward Justin Brazeau at 3:09 of the second period. After receiving attention on the ice, he was able to skate off on his own but did not return.
He "will miss some time" and the team expects to have a clearer prognosis for him soon, coach Sheldon Keefe said, according to NHL.com.
Markstrom had six saves before leaving, and his replacement, Jake Allen, stopped all 16 shots he faced as the Devils snapped a four-game skid.
Markstrom is 21-9-5 this season with a 2.20 goals-against average and .912 save percentage.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Linesman leaves after collision with Avs' Toews
DENVER -- Linesman Jonny Murray left in the third period after briefly returning following a second-period collision in the Avalanche game against Winnipeg on Wednesday night.
Colorado defenseman Devon Toews was skating with Jets forward Kyle Connor in the Winnipeg end and collided with Murray near his right knee at 7:26 of the period. Murray spun and fell to the ice and stayed down on his hands and knees while being attended to by Colorado trainers.
He got to his feet and went off with help from the Avalanche trainers.
Play continued with Tyson Baker serving as the only linesman for the remainder of the second period. Murray was back on the ice at the start of the third, but later left and did not return.
The Jets won 3-2 in overtime.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Raphinha, Viní hopeful of Neymar's Santos return
Raphinha and Vinícius Júnior are excited about the prospect of Neymar returning to Brazil, with the Al Hilal star eyeing a potential move to former club Santos in January.
Sources have told ESPN that Neymar is looking to terminate his contract with the Saudi Pro League side to go back to Santos.
The Brazil forward, who is also a target of several MLS teams, becomes a free agent in July.
Asked about Neymar's future, fellow Brazil international and Barcelona star Raphinha told TNT Sports Brasil, as reported on Globoesporte: "I think him returning to compete at a high level, and in my opinion the Brazilian [league] is at a high level, will be good not only for him, but for everyone."
Vinícius said he believes Santos would be the right place for Neymar to rediscover his best form.
"For Brazil it is important to have a player like Ney [Neymar], even more so at Santos, which is his home, where he played so many games," the Real Madrid forward said on Wednesday.
Neymar, 32, has not played since sustaining a hamstring injury in November in his second game back after being sidelined for a year following a torn ACL and meniscus in his left knee.
He has not been guaranteed any regular playing time as has not been registered to play in the Saudi Pro League for the second half of the season.
Al Hilal coach Jorge Jesus recently said that Neymar "can no longer play at the level we are used to."
"I think a player like him can never stand still, not be active," Raphinha said.
"What is happening at his club may be hindering him from returning to his best physically."
The former Barcelona forward has scored one goal in seven appearances since he joined Al Hilal from Paris Saint-Germain in a league-record 90 million ($98.6m) transfer in August 2023.
Neymar, who is Brazil's all-time leading scorer with 79 goals, was not registered to play in the Saudi Pro League for the first half of this season but has played in the Asian Champions League.
"Ney [Neymar] is our idol and we hope he can return to play as soon as possible," Vinícius said.
"May he be able to calmly take the best decision for him and his family."
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