In his first season as a pro, Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels did things few NFL fans have seen before.
An essential shoo-in to win Rookie of the Year honors, Daniels led the Commanders to a 12-5 regular season record and a playoff berth with 25 passing touchdowns, an additional six rushing touchdowns, and just nine interceptions. And while plenty of rookie quarterbacks have started for playoff teams, Daniels' play led Washington to the NFC championship with road upsets of No. 3 seed Tampa Bay and top-seeded Detroit.
In the process, the Commanders snapped a 33-year NFC championship drought and fell just two wins away from the fourth title in franchise history. Daniels impressed at every step along the way.
In the final game of his rookie campaign, Daniels completed 29 of 48 passes for 255 yards and one passing touchdown. He also rushed six times for 48 yards and a touchdown on the ground.
Here's how Washington's QB of the present — and future — rewrote history in real-time.
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Jayden Daniels playoff rookie records
The list of rookie records Daniels broke began during the regular season and grew as the Commanders' postseason journey continued. Before keying in on postseason records, it's worth noting that Daniels' completion percentage (69.0%) and rushing yards (891) were both regular-season rookie quarterback records.
Now, onto the postseason records, some of which tie into Daniels' regular-season performance.
Jayden Daniels combined regular season and playoff rookie records
Most offensive yards by a rookie, including playoffs — (5,415)
Most rookie quarterback wins, regular season and postseason — (14, tied with Ben Roethlisberger)
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Jayden Daniels playoff rookie records
Daniels finishes is in a four-way tie for most playoff wins for a rookie quarterback.
He is also the sixth rookie QB to start in a conference championship, joining Shaun King (2000, Buccaneers), Ben Roethlisberger (2005, Steelers), Joe Flacco (2009, Ravens), Mark Sanchez (2010, Jets), and Brock Burdy (2023, 49ers).
The first five rookie QBs to start in a conference championship have a combined 0-5 record.
Quarterback wins — (2, tied with Brock Purdy, Mark Sanchez and Joe Flacco)
Passing yards — (822 yards)
QB rushing yards — (135 yards)
Completions — (75)
Completion percentage (min. 25 attempts) — (69.7%)
Passer rating (min. 25 attempts) — (116.2)
Games started — (3, tied with Purdy, Sanchez and Flacco)
Daniels finished one touchdown shy of tying Aaron Brooks' (six) passing touchdown mark from the 2001 playoffs.
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