NFL: Youngster Daniels with almost perfect show

The Commanders not only celebrated their second win in three games and thus reached the top of the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference (NFC), they also prolonged the Bengals’ misery. While Washington is fully involved in the fight for the play-off spots, the finalist of the 2021/2022 season is still without a win after three games and is approaching the proverbial wall.

Rookie Daniels, who was selected second overall in the draft as Washington’s best college player, confirmed the hopes placed in him. The 23-year-old threw passes for 254 yards and two touchdowns and ran into the end zone once himself. Particularly noteworthy: 21 of his 23 pass attempts found their target. With a success rate of 91.3 percent, Daniels set a record for rookies. “Respect to my O-line, respect to my receivers,” the former winner of the Heisman Trophy for the best college player immediately passed on the praise.

His counterpart Joe Burrow also played his best game of the season, with passes for 324 yards and three touchdown passes. However, he could not prevent the Bengals’ third loss against the Commanders, who were derided by Cincinnati defender Cam Taylor-Britt as a “nice little college offense” beforehand. “We had our chances, but we couldn’t capitalize on them,” said Burrow, who was selected first in the 2020 draft, referring to missed touchdowns and a missed field goal. Coach Zac Taylor called the defeat a “punch in the gut.”

Buffalo destroys Jacksonville

The players of the Jacksonville Jaguars must have felt similarly after their business trip to Buffalo. The team from Florida had no chance against the well-performing Bills, losing 19:47. Led by quarterback Allen, the game was already a clear affair for the home team at halftime, with a score of 34:3. Playmaker Allen had already thrown four touchdown passes in the half and was able to watch from the bench as his substitute Mitchell Trubisky brought home the win. “It feels good, I can tell you that,” Allen commented on the performance.

It was also a special party for Damar Hamlin. The Bills player, who briefly feared for his life after suffering a cardiac arrest on the field 18 months ago, intercepted a pass from Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence. For Hamlin, it was the first interception of his career, and shortly afterwards the Bills scored their third touchdown. For the Jaguars, who were disappointing in every respect, it was their third loss in three games. To top it all off, the team’s plane also had problems and was unable to travel home to Florida until well after midnight.

National Football League