Commanders QB Jayden Daniels totaled just 191 passing yards with one TD and one INT in Thursday night's loss to the Eagles. He ran seven times for 18 yards. A red-hot Philadelphia defense got consistent pressure on Daniels and erased WR Terry McLaurin. In fact, Commanders WRs combined for just four catches and 28 yards. (Daniels completed 10 passes to RBs and eight to TEs.) Washington also struggled on third downs, converting only three of 12 chances. Daniels' TD went to TE Zach Ertz from five yards out with less than a minute to go.
This was Daniels' second straight disappointing fantasy outing, following a QB25 finish in Week 10. Daniels had finished outside the top-12 QBs in just two of his first nine games.
So what's going on with the rookie? The simplest explanation is that his last two games have come against the third- and fourth-ranked QB defenses. Daniels has completed just 59% of his passes at 6.0 yards per attempt over the last two weeks -- down from 71% and 8.5 YPA over his first nine outings.
Daniels' rushing production has also declined since his Week 7 rib injury:
We'll see if the rushing production bounces back as Daniels puts that rib injury further behind him. It's worth noting that the Amazon TV broadcast mentioned during Thursday night's game that Daniels is still wearing extra protection around his chest.
Week 12 brings a perfect bounce-back spot against the Cowboys' 27th-ranked QB defense. After that is a neutral matchup against the Titans.
Daniels then gets a Week 14 bye followed by a game in New Orleans and a rematch vs. Philadelphia. He gets the Falcons' 21st-ranked QB defense in Week 17.
With a significantly easier schedule the rest of the way than he's faced over the past few weeks, Daniels owners should feel comfortable rolling him out as a QB1.
If you're worried about using him in that rematch against the Eagles, consider adding QBs Baker Mayfield (at Cowboys), Russell Wilson (at Baltimore) or Jameis Winston (vs. Cincinnati) as a Week 16 spot starter.
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