Jon Gruden breaks down Commanders' offense with QB Jayden Daniels

Nobody saw the Washington Commanders coming in 2024, especially that high-powered offense led by quarterback Jayden Daniels and offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury.

Early detractors labeled Kingsbury as a 'figured-out' former head coach who couldn't hack it once, and likely wouldn't again. Meanwhile, Daniels' doubters worried about his health and ability to rein in his desire to make plays, questioning whether he could make throws utilizing the full NFL field. The Commanders had no doubts about either, and in the end unveiled an offense that few defenses can claim they kept in check in 2024.

Asked about that Washington offense in a recent interview on Gruden Goes Long with former head coach Jon Gruden, Daniels said, "I think it's unique. I think for us, we got pro-style concepts, (and) we don't huddle half the time or majority of the time, I would say not even half the time. Sometimes we might huddle, it's like a little muddle-huddle where it's like I'm speaking to everybody, might give a little hand signal here and there, but it's unique and it fits us. We want to be up fast uptempo because we don't really want to give the defense a chance to get set, and in this league, first, second down with third down man, they call all the exotic blitzes. You've got to go up there. You've got to figure out where they're blitzed from. So we try to eliminate as much as possible, and if we do get in that situation, we always prepare for that too."

Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels. | Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

Last season wasn't the first time the NFL saw a no-huddle offense, of course, but it might have been the best the league has seen it constructed and operated in quite some time.

The Commanders' ability to go no huddle with the same personnel on the field while varying the looks the defense was getting was unique, to say the least. And it created advantageous situations again and again.

With 2025 quickly approaching, however, the expectation is that NFL defensive coordinators with Daniels on their schedule are hard at work trying to figure out the pattern, the hints, and the tells that might let them be the next one to keep the league's fifth-highest scoring offense to as low a score as possible.

"I just think as a competitor you're always trying to find little ways to get better, and for me it's like last year was last year, that was great, but it's a whole new year now and I still got to go out there, I got to prove myself to my teammates, organization, each and every day that I'm getting better."

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