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The Washington Commanders shocked the NFL world, winning 12 games and advancing to the NFC Championship Game in 2024. How would they respond in 2025 with increased expectations? Would NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year Jayden Daniels become an MVP candidate?

Unfortunately, the Commanders are 3-10 heading into a Week 15 matchup against the New York Giants and Daniels will miss his seventh game of the season. There are many reasons Washington has regressed this season, including numerous injuries and a poor defense.

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The Commanders had red flags entering the season. Did they do enough to improve the pass rush? Was adding Deebo Samuel at wide receiver to support Terry McLaurin enough? That lack of moves has impacted Washington. The Commanders can’t get pressure on opposing pass rushers, further exposing a struggling secondary. Meanwhile, injuries at receiver have left Daniels and backup Marcus Mariota relying on practice squad additions each week.

One of the biggest takeaways from this season is that Daniels hasn’t been able to play Superman as he did in 2024. No deficit was too significant for Daniels last season. If the Commanders faced a third-and-20, no one worried, because Daniels would make a play with his arm or his legs. Washington’s passing game was feared, too, as Daniels helped McLaurin smash his personal-best season with 13 touchdowns. Well, until last week, McLaurin and Daniels had only been on the field together in Weeks 1 and 2.

While there is a debate about whether offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury is exposing Daniels too much by running him, not much has changed. Yes, Daniels is taking off when nothing is open — which has happened a lot due to the rotating cast of receivers — but no one complained about that last season. Two of the three injuries Daniels suffered this season were in the pocket.

So, while his scramble rate is up, Washington’s offensive problems have played a role. It’s also true that Daniels has been hesitant to pull the trigger at times, not trusting what he sees, which wasn’t an issue last season. That happens when you miss a lot of time, and you haven’t played with some of your receivers.

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In his Week 14 QB Notebook for The Ringer, Steven Ruiz broke down Daniels. While Ruiz focused on Daniels’ increased scrambling rate, and his inability to sometimes protect himself when he does scramble.

Ruiz made some solid points, some of which require a bit more context. However, one area that Ruiz focused on was Daniels throwing less when scrambling. He’s 100% correct. This is an area where Daniels was dangerous as a rookie and we even saw it in Week 1 against the Giants.

Only 39 percent of his out-of-pocket dropbacks have ended in a pass attempt this season, per TruMedia. That’s easily the lowest mark in the league, and only Justin Fields (45 percent) and Drake Maye (49 percent) are within 10 percentage points of him. The number was higher for Daniels last season, at 42 percent, so this issue seems to be getting worse.

Here’s that Week 1 throw to Chris Moore when Daniels was on the move.

You will not find a more perfect throw. Under pressure, knowing he’s about to get hit, Daniels throws a bullet to Moore down the field for a big play. It was an accurate throw on the move. It’s proof of what he can do while on the move. Right now, defenses aren’t playing him to throw when he breaks free from the pocket. If he hits a throw or two like that again, that respect will come back.

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Whether Daniels plays again this season or not, throwing on the move should be a focus for him and the Commanders this offseason. Right now, Daniels isn’t playing with the same confidence he had as a rookie. It’s understandable because he’s been in and out of the lineup.

Washington GM Adam Peters has his hands full this offseason. His top priorities are fixing the defense and surrounding Daniels with more offensive playmakers. The good thing for the Commanders is they have their franchise quarterback and a very good, but still improving offensive line.

This article originally appeared on Commanders Wire: Washington Commanders: One area of improvement for Jayden Daniels