The future of the Washington Commanders and the New England Patriots hinges on how successful LSU’s Jayden Daniels and North Carolina’s Drake Maye turn out to be at the NFL’s most important position. If each of the rookie quarterbacks can find sustained success, both middling franchises could be in for better days.
Those conversation, of course, are for another day. On this one, Daniels suited up for warmups, but not the game itself. Maye did play, but struggled in the face of consistent pressure. With botched snaps and a few errant pass attempts, Maye looked decidely mortal while completing 13 of 20 passes for 126 yards and a touchdown in a 20-10 loss. New England’s offense was also penalized eight times during the first half for false start, holding or illegal formation, which obviously didn’t help the rookie’s cause.
With Daniels (along with 33 other Commanders players) sitting out, quarterback Trace McSorley was provided an opportunity to impress head coach Dan Quinn and his staff. McSorley completed 12 of 21 passes for 121 yards and a touchdown in an otherwise forgettable evening affair.
While few recognizable names participated in this exhibition matchup, maybe that’s not a bad thing. Washington hasn’t won a playoff game since 2005 or finished with a winning record since 2016. Maybe some serious housecleaning is in need by new general manager Adam Peters to rid the franchise of the stink of the previous regime’s constant shortcomings and failures. Maybe Quinn and friends will look back at this slog of a home preseason game and realize this was the night they identified an important piece of the puzzle. Or maybe, just maybe, it will be immediately forgotten and never spoken of again. Either way, bring on the regular season.
