It's been a whirlwind year for the Washington Commanders. Just six months after the franchise ended weeks of speculation by taking Jayden Daniels at No. 2 overall in the 2024 NFL Draft, the quarterback has turned the league on its head.
Not only is Daniels playing well beyond his years, but the Commanders are one of the league's biggest surprises at 7-2. With a new ownership group, new head coach, new general manager, and new quarterback, nobody expected the success to happen as fast as it has. I guess that's the Magic (Johnson) touch. Forgive me that one.
But in all seriousness, from being an embarrassment under Dan Snyder for 20 years to becoming a premier destination that players want to get traded to in the span of 1.5 seasons. That is real progress. Let's not forget that the Commanders are also going into the 2025 recruitment period with seven draft picks and more than $100 million in salary-cap space.
That's for the future. For now, let's take a look at some superlatives from the first half of the season.
Commanders 2024 midseason superlatives after incredible start
Biggest Surprise
Outside of the team being 7-2, you mean? It's how quickly Jayden Daniels has adapted to the speed of the game in the NFL.
We’ve heard about him using virtual reality to prepare for games. It would not be a surprise if this is widely adopted across the NCAA after watching how successful it has been for the rookie quarterback.
Daniels is top five in completion percentage, passer rating, and QBR. He has the second-most rushing yards behind Lamar Jackson. Not only is he well on his way to earning NFL Rookie of the Year, the first-year phenom is currently in the running to win league MVP.
Comeback Story of the Year
This has to go to Kliff Kingsbury.
After going 28-37-1 as Arizona Cardinals head coach and butting heads with star quarterback Kyler Murray, Kingsbury was fired. After contemplating his future, and thinking he might not ever coach again, he decided to join USC as an offensive analyst, a far fall from being an NFL head coach.
Before joining the Commanders, he was passed over for roles with the Philadelphia Eagles, Chicago Bears, and Las Vegas Raiders. Their loss has been Washington’s gain.
The Commanders have the third-highest-scoring offense in the league. Kingsbury, who is known as a quarterback whisperer having worked with Johnny Manziel, Pat Mahomes, Baker Mayfield, and Caleb Williams among many others, has put Daniels in the best position to succeed.
Commanders 2024 midseason superlatives
Play of the Year
Take a wild guess.
Not only did this play win the game against the Chicago Bears. It also reawakened any part of the fanbase that was still snoozing on this team.
Jayden Daniels, playing with an injured hip, launched a pass 60-plus yards, seeing it bounce up in the air and into the hands of Noah Brown. The quarterback held the ball for over 12 seconds and scrambled more than 40 yards before making the pass.
The icing on the cake? The defender that tipped the ball into the air, Tyrique Stevenson, was taunting the fans right before the snap and had been trash-talking with Terry McLaurin earlier in the game. It was almost picture-perfect.
Biggest Disappointment
Although he is no longer on the team, Jamin Davis’ name comes to mind. After offseason hype where the former first-round pick transitioned to an edge-rushing role, he barely saw the field, was a healthy scratch multiple times, and registered zero sacks before his release.
His potential was much hyped, as was par in the case throughout Ron Rivera’s tenure. But the reality never matched up.
Underachiever Award
Before going down with a season-ending injury, Jonathan Allen only had 15 tackles and two sacks. Not the type of performance you want to see from someone making more than $21 million.
His tackle total is not much higher than the recently-released Davis, while his sack number leaves much to be desired. For all the hype that the Big 3 trio of Allen, Daron Payne, and Montez Sweat received, they regularly underwhelmed.
This season might wrap up what has been an uneven final few years for Allen in a Washington uniform.
Saddest Statistic
After releasing Jamin Davis two weeks ago, none of the first-round picks made from the 2019-22 remain on the roster. None.
Dwayne Haskins and Davis were cut. Chase Young, Montez Sweat, and Jahan Dotson were traded. So much for Ron Rivera being a great talent evaluator.
Let's take a moment to acknowledge the irony behind Rivera's quote from last season, "If we go 8-8-1 this year and he (Harris) fires me and next year they win the division and 40 of the 53 players we drafted and it’s the same quarterback, I’m vindicated. Send me my Super Bowl ring.”
We both know the amount of turnover made on the roster, so good luck getting that ring, Ron.
Commanders 2024 midseason superlatives
Coolest Stat
The Washington Commanders are having 61 percent of their drives end in points, which is the highest in the league since 2000. The teams that are 2-4 on the list either made it to their division championship game or the Super Bowl.
Ain't that something?
Best Offseason Acquisition
You know it was a good offseason when there are several options to choose from. Have to give it up to Bobby Wagner, who has come in and become the heart and soul of this defense.
After making the Pro Bowl last year, Bobby Wagner is showing no signs of slowing down in his age-34 season. He leads the defense in tackles, is second in tackles for loss, and has one of the team’s seven forced fumbles.
Worst Offseason Acquisition
Michael Davis was a rare miss for Adam Peters. Signed on a one-year deal to provide competition, the veteran cornerback has barely seen the field.
Davis quickly fell out of the lineup after missing three tackles and allowing 51 yards after the catch in Week 2. Overall this season, he has played on only six percent of the defensive snaps. His cap hit is only $3.54 million, so it's not too big of a hit to the team regardless.
Problem Solver Award
One of the biggest issues that plagued the Commanders was at kicker. After signing and releasing Brandon McManus in the offseason, Washington brought in Ramiz Ahmed and Riley Patterson.
When neither of them impressed, the team ended up trading for Cade York. He was the Week 1 starter but missed both of his field goals and sent a kickoff out of bounds. Not the start the team was looking for.
He was subsequently cut and the cycle continued. Austin Seibert was signed before Week 2 and played hero just days later. He set the franchise record for seven field goals in a game, including the game-winner, before being carried out “Rudy-style”.
Seibert leads the NFL with 25 made field goals, although he is 1-for-3 from beyond 50 yards. He has also been perfect on his extra points and has turned what was once an Achilles heel into a strength.
Commanders 2024 midseason superlatives
The Chef Award
Who else but Adam Peters? Let him cook.
Rebuild the offensive line? Check. Add multiple weapons on offense and defense? Check. Bring in key unheralded contributors like Jeremy McNichols, Noah Brown, and Marcus Mariota. Check.
Draft the future franchise quarterback. Check. Pull off trades that would make Howie Roseman blush. Check. And one of those transactions was with the Philadelphia Eagles general manager, which only makes it sweeter.
Peters was able to get a third-round pick for wide receiver Jahan Dotson, who has seven receptions for 71 receiving yards all season. That’s better than what the New York Jets got for Mike Williams, what the Carolina Panthers got for Diontae Johnson, and what the Tennessee Titans got for DeAndre Hopkins.
It is in line with the compensation that the Las Vegas Raiders acquired for Davante Adams and the Cleveland Browns received for Amari Cooper. In other words, a steal.
Peters then utilized the other third-rounder the team had, his sixth-rounder from the New Orleans Saints for John Ridgeway III, a fourth-round pick to acquire cornerback Marshon Lattimore and a fifth-rounder.
Overachiever Award
After trading Dotson, many questioned who would be WR2 for the Washington Commanders. A week later, the team added Noah Brown, who had been cut by the Houston Texans and overlapped in Dallas with Dan Quinn.
Brown caught the game-winner against the Chicago Bears. He has also been one of Jayden Daniels’ favorite deep ball targets.
The former seventh-round selection has the third-most receiving yards on the team while averaging the most yards per reception. Not only does he make big plays, but Brown has been pivotal in drawing pass-interference penalties to keep drives alive for Washington.
As the Commanders march into the second half of the season, we'll see if they can maintain this success. But for the first time in many years, the team is being talked about across the media landscape for the right reasons.
