It was a rough start to the 2025 campaign for Jayden Daniels. After cementing what many believed to be the greatest rookie season by a quarterback in NFL history, his sophomore year got off to a slow start through two weeks. To make matters worse, a knee injury forced the dynamic dual-threat quarterback to miss the past two games.
As he made his return against the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 5, the first half wasn’t a great showing by any stretch for last year’s Offensive Rookie of the Year. As a result, it has left fans wondering if his injury is truly healed.
What Happened to Jayden Daniels?
A knee sprain suffered in Week 2 against the Green Bay Packers caused Daniels to miss two games. Even in the week leading up to their clash against the Chargers, his status wasn’t 100% guaranteed.
Finally, he was announced as the starter on Friday. Unfortunately, through the first half, it has been a rough go for the former second overall pick. At the time of writing, he had completed four of seven passing attempts and added just 50 yards through the air.
Moreover, his usually dynamic running ability hasn’t been on display, with the speedster adding just eight yards on four carries. Instead, the team has remained competitive thanks to an excellent outing from Jacory Croskey-Merritt, who is already up to 45 yards and a touchdown on just five carries.
At the tail end of the half, though, came some good news for Commanders fans. Trying to lead a quick two-minute drill to get to the other side of the field, Daniels threw two darts, tallying 72 yards between them.
Jayden Daniels with the deep shot to Luke McCaffrey pic.twitter.com/oiQsQtgaHN
— CommandersMuse (@CommandersMusee) October 5, 2025
It set Washington up for a field goal to tie the game, and potentially gave the fan base a sigh of relief at seeing their superstar quarterback operating up to his standards. That final drive seemed to unlock something in Daniels.
Coming out of the break, he was a changed man, finding his zip on the field once again. As the Chargers were shut out in the second half, the Commanders added 17 more points, with Daniels leading the way.
By the end of the night, he had 39 rushing yards on eight carries. However, his true value came in the passing game. Despite missing his number one wide receiver, Terry McLaurin, Daniels ended the game with 231 yards and a touchdown, while completing 15 of his 26 passing attempts.