Jayden Daniels Has Message for Washington After Ugly Ravens Practice

Commanders Daily — Jayden Daniels displayed veteran leadership after the Commanders' offense struggled against the Ravens, taking accountability rather than blaming a shuffled offensive line. | Philip Hughes | HTTR4LIFE LLC

Heading into a joint practice session with Baltimore, the Washington Commanders wanted a tough opponent to get an honest evaluation of where their roster stands. While the results weren't exactly what the Commanders' staff wanted, they got what they needed. In the process, Washington's offense struggled badly, mainly up front on the line, and quarterback Jayden Daniels acknowledged afterward that Wednesday was not his or the team's best day. Rather than dismiss the day's performance, he said Washington has to own what happened, learn from it, and move forward.

Daniels is fully convinced they still have time to fix any issues. "I would say you just got to play everything true," Daniels said. "Own this, watch the tape, take the coaching, be coachable to be able to move forward from this. Good thing about it, man, it's what, August, whatever? I don't know what day it is, but it's August, whatever. Our first game is September 13th. So, that's when it really matters." That wasn't Daniels' way of saying Wednesday didn't matter; he meant that mistakes made in August still offer a chance to be corrected before they cost Washington a regular-season game.

Washington's offensive line was clearly mismatched and out of sorts against Baltimore. To be fair, Sam Cosmi was sick and didn't participate, and center Nick Allegretti is still not back, as he's dealing with a relentless calf strain that has kept him out for most of the summer. Then, when you factor in that Laremy Tunsil is someone you cannot replace at left tackle, but you have to due to injury, Brandon Coleman slid over from left guard, a position he was well on his way to winning, leaving an inconsistent Chris Paul to man that spot. Remember that you have a second-year player at right tackle in Josh Conerly Jr., that you still expect some growing pains from, and that is where you are currently with Washington's offensive line. Not easy to explain, and certainly not easy to run an offense behind. Daniels' comments afterward focused more on his own issues instead of placing the blame solely on the rest of the offense.

"No. I think we just overall got to keep building and keep growing," Daniels said. "You're not winning a Super Bowl right now. You're not playing for a Super Bowl right now, playing for the division, stuff like that. First game matters September 13th, and you just try to get better each and every day, build reps over time, and hopefully you're playing your best ball towards the end of the season."

Over the next two-plus weeks, Washington needs to take seriously what Baltimore exposed without treating one ugly August practice like a verdict on the season. Daniels' message was simple: Wednesday was bad, Washington has to own it, but the real measure comes when the Commanders line up against Philadelphia on September 13.

Josh Conerly and Brandon Coleman talk the Commanders play again the ravens #raisehail #commanders

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— WINSports (@WINSportsDC) August 26, 2026

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