Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels was replaced for part of Sunday’s win over the Dallas Cowboys due to mild leg soreness. However, coach Dan Quinn is not concerned about how this will affect Daniels in the playoffs.
In an NFC wild-card playoff game against Tampa Bay on Sunday night, Daniels has been the presumptive favorite to win NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year. Despite a tough first half, where he was sacked four times and had six overall, Quinn said he would have played if it were a regular season game.
However, with Dallas’ aggressive defense and multiple sacks in the first half, Quinn decided to bring in Marcus Mariota for the second half. Daniels admitted that his leg soreness did impact his ability to get out of the pocket as the game evolved.
Despite this, Quinn assured that the decision was made based on the team’s strategy, not the playoffs. Washington clinched a No. 6 seed with their win, making a loss potentially detrimental to their playoff positioning. Quinn stated, “You have to depend on the game to say what’s required for the game to go win it.”
Daniels is confident that he could have played through his soreness if it were a playoff game. He said, “They’d have had to drag me off the field.”
Source: https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/43313058/commanders-quinn-says-not-concerned-daniels-sore-leg