Commanders vs. Browns takeaways: Jayden Daniels’ deep passes, improved defense key Washington’s blowout

The Jayden Daniels hype train certainly isn’t slowing down, especially after this performance against one of the league’s best teams, and the Commanders‘ hot start continues to prove more and more legitimate. Washington cruised past Cleveland 34-13 (box score), dominating the Browns on both sides of the ball.

Daniels’ statistical profile — 14-for-25 for 238 yards, a touchdown and an interception as well as 11 rushes for 82 yards — paints the picture of another strong performance, albeit one that looked different from previous games. More on that in a bit.

Perhaps what’s even more encouraging is that Washington didn’t need to lean on its rookie star. In fact, he sat out much of the fourth quarter. The running game (outside Daniels) kept its impressive pace, and the defense continued its upward trajectory.

The momentum is real. Washington is 4-1 for the first time since 2008. It has consecutive 20-point wins for the first time since 1997, more than three years before Daniels was born.

Here are three keys to how the Commanders got there:

1. Daniels delivers explosives through the air

All those numbers about Daniels’ historic completion percentage through four weeks went out the door early in Week 5, and they never really got back on track. His 56% completion rate was his worst as a pro; he hadn’t been below 70% in any of his first four games.

And that is perfectly OK, because Daniels more than made up for that with his big plays through the air, a 66-yarder to Terry McLaurin and a 41-yard touchdown to Dyami Brown chief among them.

Despite the low completion rate, Daniels’ 9.5 yards per attempt was the second-highest of his young career, in part because he went big-game hunting more, with a career-high 12 air yards per attempt.

>> Most by a Commanders player in a game since Robert Griffin III in Week 16, 2014

Entering the week, Daniels’ 6.0 air yards per attempt had been third-lowest in the NFL, only ahead of Patrick Mahomes and Baker Mayfield. So to see him willing to air the ball out against Cleveland’s man-heavy, blitz-heavy defense was encouraging, and he took full advantage in a pair of big moments.

2. Daniels, Ekeler deliver explosives in the run game

Entering this game, Daniels’ rushing had been, generally, more efficient than explosive. That changed Sunday. Daniels’ 7.5 yards per carry were his best as a pro, and he had the two longest runs of his career (34 yards and 23 yards) as well. Both came against the blitz. 

Overall, Daniels handled Jim Schwartz’s blitzes with aplomb. In addition to the 57 yards rushing, he went 8-for-12 for 150 yards through the air when the Browns brought pressure. Daniels’ legs were a huge, huge part of Washington’s success.

Furthermore, Austin Ekeler ripped off a 50-yard run, and Jeremy McNichols had a 28-yarder. Washington’s four carries of 20+ yards matched its total from Weeks 1-4 combined.

“Today, it was just a different kind of philosophy for us to win the game,” Ekeler said. “We had big plays, which obviously helped us. We wanna see that, because we haven’t necessarily had as many as we had today in the past. So I think it was great to be able to show, ‘Hey, we can win this way as well.’”

The running game has been a major strength, and it’s been a group effort. Four different players have at least 100 yards on the ground this season already, and both the runners and the blockers deserve credit: Washington is 13th in yards per carry before contact and fourth in yards per carry after contact.

3. Defensive front seven finding its footing

Pressure and how Deshaun Watson deals with it have been devastating issues for the Browns, and Washington showed no mercy. Its seven sacks and 49% pressure rate were both season bests.

Frankie Luvu continues to stand out. He became the first Washington player 2.5 sacks and a fumble recovery in a game since Phillip Daniels in 2005. Currently, 280 players have had at least 25 snaps as a pass rusher. Luvu ranks fifth with a 27% pressure rate. One of the four players ahead of him is the other half of Washington’s linebacking duo, Bobby Wagner (29.6%). We’re starting to see the chaos Dan Quinn’s defenses in Dallas had a penchant for creating.

“It’s awesome to kind of have the ying to Bobby’s yang,” Quinn said. “Like, Bobby Wagner’s as cool as you can get in just about every scenario, and then next to him is Frankie who is wound up, as wild and fun as you can get. So, it’s nice to have the balance of both of them doing their thing.”

The run defense also showed improvement. While the surface numbers — 23 carries for 104 yards — aren’t eye-popping, Washington had a season-best 61% defensive success rate against the run. Furthermore, after being gashed up the middle in the first four weeks, the Commanders allowed just 11 yards on six carries up the middle against Cleveland. Defensive tackles Jonathan Allen, Daron Payne, Johnny Newton and Phidarian Mathis all played well, and Quinn noted their work on early downs helped unleash the pass rush on long down-and-distances, a winning combination.