Kiss the Ugly Girl: The Secret Behind the NFL's Rookie Sensation

Jayden Daniels has emerged as a star-and it's due in part to a unique coaching lesson

- ANDREW BEATON

As Washington quarterback Jayden Daniels engineered one of the most stunning wins of this NFL season, capped off by his fifth touchdown pass of the day with seconds left to topple the Philadelphia Eagles, he flashed all the skills that have turned him into a rookie sensation.

Daniels lasered the ball into tiny windows. He hurled bombs down the field. He scampered for big gains. And when none of those options was open, he looked toward his checkdowns to keep the chains moving.

More than anything, what Daniels has shown in his first NFL season is a remarkable ability to beat defenses by taking what's available to him. It turns out that is no accident. In fact, it's a philosophy that's been engrained in him for so long that he actually has a saying for it.

"Kiss the ugly girl," says Ryan Porter, his longtime quarterback coach. "Take what the defense gives you. Do not be greedy." Daniels didn't have his prettiest game on Sunday, but he was able to come through against what had been the NFL's No. 1 scoring defense by exploiting whatever the Eagles surrendered to him.

In the 36-33 victory, four of his touchdown passes went to lightly used receivers Olamide Zaccheaus and Jamison Crowder, who had a combined zero receiving scores all season. And on the rare occasions when Philadelphia's vaunted downfield pass defense showed vulnerability, Daniels took advantage of that too-his other score came on a 32-yard heave to star receiver Terry McLaurin.

That capacity to identify weaknesses in opposing defenses and then capitalize on them has Daniels on the fast track to superstardom. He was the Heisman Trophy winner last season at LSU, and in his first season in the pros he has the Commanders on the precipice of the playoffs with a 10-5 record-the best mark for the franchise since 1991, the last time it won the Super Bowl.