Jayden Daniels Makes First Start Since Elbow Injury as Commanders Open at Philly
A real return from a severe injury headlines Washington's road opener against the defending division champs.
Quarterback Jayden Daniels makes his first regular-season start since being shut down last season with a severe elbow dislocation, as Washington opens on the road against defending NFC East champion Philadelphia.
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New offensive coordinator David Blough is scrapping the previous spread scheme for a more traditional under-center, play-action attack built around Daniels' return, a genuine philosophical shift meant to protect him after last year's injury cascade rather than lean into the exact style of play that contributed to it.
Daniels, 25, played just seven games in 2025 — completing 60.6% of his passes for 1,262 yards and eight touchdowns — after a season wrecked by a dislocated left elbow, a knee sprain, and a hamstring injury, the elbow injury alone costing him the final three games of what had been a genuinely promising season. Washington deliberately protected him all preseason, limiting him to just three snaps in exhibition games while instead loading him up on practice reps, including joint practices against the Dolphins and Ravens, a real, cautious plan built specifically to get him to this opener healthy rather than risk him in a meaningless preseason series. Head coach Dan Quinn has said Daniels added "more armor" to his game this offseason after the difficult finish to last season. It's a genuinely real step down from his 2024 Offensive Rookie of the Year form, and Washington enters this opener even further shorthanded: PFF ranks the Commanders' offensive line 32nd, dead last in the entire league, without star tackle Laremy Tunsil (triceps) available to anchor it. This is also the first regular-season game either team has played since Washington's own season fell apart down the stretch a year ago, making the road environment at a division rival that much tougher a proving ground for a quarterback still working his way back from a genuinely serious injury.
You gotta be on your A game. It's gonna be a dog fight.— Jayden Daniels, on facing the Eagles in Week 1
Our take: the talent has never been the question with Daniels — his rookie tape settles that. The real question is whether a dead-last offensive line in front of a quarterback who runs as much as he does is a genuinely survivable combination for 17 games, and right now, on paper, it isn't. A new play-action-heavy scheme might genuinely help at the margins, but it doesn't replace Tunsil, and a road opener against a Philadelphia defensive front this talented is a rough proving ground for that theory.
Week 1 Prediction: Score, Spread & Player Prop
Eagles -5.5 home favorites at Lincoln Financial Field, per SI.com and CBS Sports.
Total sits at 44.5-45.5, with models leaning Under. Our pick: Eagles 24, Commanders 16 (Under).
Jayden Daniels UNDER 35.5 rushing yards. Behind the league's worst-graded line, expect Washington to actively limit Daniels' scramble exposure early in his return.
Odds and props reflect market consensus across DraftKings, FanDuel, and BetMGM as of this week — lines move, so check your own sportsbook before kickoff.
Jayden Daniels' road back for Washington
Daniels is shut down with a severe elbow dislocation.
New OC David Blough installs a traditional under-center, play-action scheme.
Commanders open on the road at defending NFC East champion Philadelphia.
A real return from injury, a real scheme change, and a real division rival on opening night.
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Sources: Hogs Haven, Commanders.com, Hogs Haven Poll