Vic Fangio’s first season in the NFL was 1986, and the Eagles defensive coordinator has seen a lot of rookie quarterbacks in his time. He’s never seen one like Jayden Daniels.
“Probably. Yeah,” Fangio said Tuesday when asked if Daniels was the best rookie quarterback he’s seen.
The Washington quarterback, the presumptive offensive rookie of the year, threw 25 touchdowns and nine interceptions in the regular season and added 891 rushing yards and six rushing touchdowns. In two playoff games, Daniels has 567 passing yards with four touchdowns and no interceptions and a passer rating of 116.2.
He already has five fourth-quarter or overtime comebacks in his career, including in the wild-card round against the Bucs.
“He’s a young quarterback by his birth certificate, not by band” said Fangio, via video from Eliot Shorr-Parks of 94WIP.com. “The guy is playing extremely well. You can tell how they think he’s playing really well, because of their offense and stuff for which they trust him, and he has taken a big step forward for them. He is difficult to deal with.
One of Daniels’ comebacks came against Fangio’s defense. Daniels threw five touchdowns and two interceptions in the 36-33 victory, with the game-winning touchdown coming with six seconds remaining.
Daniels threw no touchdowns or interceptions in a 26-18 loss to the Eagles in Week 11.
