NFL Week 3 Recap: Washington Commanders 38, Cincinnati Bengals 33

Posted by author September 24, 2024 Football

Jayden Daniels has quickly established himself as the most promising quarterback of the 2024 NFL Draft class.

The Washington Commanders‘ budding rookie looked more poised than ever, in just his third NFL game, and delivered two big-time throws and several other key passes against the Cincinnati Bengals. No other NFL quarterback is within even 5 percentage points of his 80.3% completion rate this season.

Daniels tallied the first two touchdown passes of his career and led the Commanders to points on every one of their non-kneel-down drives to upend the Bengals, 38-33, in Week 3.

PFF’s dedicated team of graders was hard at work, analyzing every player on every play in real time. The grades and data will be available after a thorough review tomorrow at 12 p.m. EST.

In the meantime, we’ve gathered some high-level data and snap counts from the game to give you an early look. Our expert graders have also nominated the standout player of the game, highlighting exceptional performance on the field.

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PLAYER OF THE GAME

Four forced missed tackles on the ground. A 91.3 completion rate. Two big-time throws and no turnover-worthy plays. Points on every non-kneel-down drive.

Each of those stats belongs to Jayden Daniels, who announced himself to the league in earnest on Monday Night Football. The rookie quarterback is on track to earn one of the highest PFF overall grades at the position — if not the highest — for Week 3, pending reviews.

BOX SCORE

	Commanders	Bengals
Total points	38	33
Total offensive plays	57	60
Average EPA per play	0.491	0.369
Total net yards	361	435
Avg yards per play	6.3	7.3
Total first downs	22	30
Rushing first downs	6	10
Passing first downs	15	19
Penalty first downs	1	1
Third-down efficiency	56%	60%
Fourth-down efficiency	75%	25%
Possessions	8	7
Avg plays per drive	7.8	9.1
Avg yards per drive	40.1	54.4
Avg points per drive	4.2	4.1
Red-zone possessions	3	4
Red-zone plays	10	14
Red-zone TDs	3	2
Red-zone FGs	0	2
Red-zone scoring efficiency	100%	100%