Washington Commanders offensive coordinator David Blough says quarterback Jayden Daniels has no limitations despite not having played in three weeks.
He’ll need everything Daniels has against a hawkish New York Giants defense Sunday at Northwest Stadium.
“They played hard, but when it came to the critical — you know, call it third down, fourth down, two minute, red zone — we were not at our best, and it certainly cost us,” Blough said Thursday. “So, as we go into this week with New York coming to town, it’s a great challenge.”
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Daniels was a full participant for the second straight practice and is expected to be back under center for the Commanders (1-3) since dislocating his elbow in Week 2 against Dallas. Blough refuted questions about whether Washington’s game plan would need to change — “He’s full go, man” — due to any potential limitations while Daniels wears a brace on his injured left, non-throwing elbow.
“Jaden is our guy, and having him out there, putting his body on the line as we all do playing this sport, we all want to make plays for him and make it easier for him,” said receiver Antonio Williams.
That game plan will have to account for a swarming Giants secondary, tied for the league lead with six interceptions — three of them by NFC Defensive Player of the Month Jevon Holland.
“Holland in the back end, the different guys that they’ve got in the secondary too. You can tell when you turn on the tape it’s an intentional effort of them to be more athletic and rangy and long,” Blough said. “And we’ve got to be on all of our spots because [linebacker Abdul] Carter’s had an excellent start to the season. Arvell [Reese], Holland, all those guys really — they’ve played good team defense through four weeks.”
The Giants’ playmakers — including Maryland native Deonte Banks, who capped New York’s Week 4 win over Arizona — will require Washington to limit the unnecessary mistakes that have plagued the team. A combined 19 penalties in the last two games, including an illegal shift that negated an 87-yard touchdown for Williams last Sunday against the Colts, have fueled calls for better accountability.
The way to correct it? “Just hold each other accountable,” Williams said. “When it happens in practice, there’s got to be some type of repercussion because I did it myself — I took away Bill [Croskey-Merritt]’s touchdown for Seattle. Just just holding each other accountable, not shooting ourselves in the foot.”
Accountability starts at the center of the offense — literally, says center Lucas Patrick, including getting the Commanders’ line and receivers settled in each formation as early as possible.
“How I fix that is just I got to get to the ball faster. As soon as we break the huddle, I got to get to the ball faster so we can give guys time to operate, time to shift, motion,” Patrick said. “Can’t be static in this league. We have to use being on offense, knowing the snap count, being able to create advantageous looks. We have to be able to do that. My job is to set the huddle and then get to the line with some pace.”
Something else that may limit Daniels’ ability won’t be related to his injury. The remnants of Hurricane Isaias, which will make landfall along the Gulf Coast this weekend, are expected make their way east and end up in the D.C. area by Sunday’s afternoon’s kickoff.
“This is a collective effort. Ownership, accountability, everything, and it starts with me getting them into the right spots,” Blough said. “But we’re going to put those guys in the best position to have success, and whatever that looks like on Sunday, we will we will have those guys in their spots for it.”
For the Commanders defense, the expected conditions mean an even heavier dose of bruising Giants running back Cam Skattebo, who’s averaging 17 carries a game. He was limited in practice this week with a shoulder injury, which could also affect his presence as part of the Giants’ protection scheme.
“Obviously Skattebo is physical in various ways, but he’s very physical on his blocking, defensive coordinator Daronte Jones said. “When he matches up, he’s pummeled some guys. So we just showed our players today in terms of how we want to attack his blocking scheme and so forth, and whoever that may be, because they have different backs in that position.”
NOTES: Recievers Terry McLaurin and Stefon Diggs, Daniels’ top two threats who are both nursing hamstring injuries, both did not practice on Thursday. Croskey-Merritt (groin) and tight end Chig Okonkwo (hamstring) were limited in their participation, with guard Sam Cosmi (concussion) a full participant. The Commanders also released running back Kaytron Allen on Thursday.
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