The Washington Commanders enter Week 6 with another must-win game. That’s what happens when you begin the season with a 1-3-1 record and blow a win against the Giants in Week 5. Unfortunately for the Commanders, they have a tall task in front of them in Week 6. Washington travels across the country, which is hard enough, to face the undefeated San Francisco 49ers.
The Niners, despite numerous injuries, are playing at an elite level on both sides of the ball, led by quarterback Brock Purdy. San Francisco’s head coach, Kyle Shanahan, is in his 10th season with the 49ers and is doing one of his best jobs yet.
Shanahan has plenty of ties to Washington. He spent four years there as offensive coordinator (2010-13) under his father, Mike. Things didn’t
end well, but that bitterness is long gone. Shanahan is also close with Commanders head coach Dan Quinn, who he worked under for two years with the Atlanta Falcons. Shanahan is also close with Washington general manager Adam Peters.
Heading into Monday night’s game, Shanahan isn’t taking anything for granted. He praised the Commanders on Thursday, saying they’ve had some bad luck and are much better than their record. He was particularly impressed with quarterback Jayden Daniels.
"Jayden’s got a chance to be one of the better quarterbacks in this league without a doubt,” Shanahan said, via Dan Dempster of NBC Sports Bay Area. “If you take away the running element of him, just how he plays in the pocket is so natural with how accurate he is, how strong his arm is, how poised he is going through a progression, how fearless he is hanging in there and taking a hit, keeping his eyes down the field.”
Shanahan made it clear that Daniels is just as impressive in the pocket as he is outside of the pocket with his legs. In last week’s game against the Giants, Daniels rushed for 103 yards and two touchdowns on only nine carries. But he’s equally as impressive throwing the ball.
“He’s got the speed and the coordination to win games only with his legs, which means you want to keep him in the pocket and not let him out because he can beat you with his legs. However, he’s a very scary quarterback in the pocket just playing the position. So, he’s got all the tools to be as good as there is.”
While this is the first time that Shanahan’s 49ers will play Daniels, they are familiar with one another. Shanahan coached the Wildcats FFC flag football team earlier this year, which was captained by Daniels.
This article originally appeared on Commanders Wire: 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan breaks down Commanders QB Jayden Daniels
