The 2024 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year dislocated his non-throwing left elbow in Week 2. Washington had turned to currently injured veteran backup Marcus Mariota and third-stringer Athan Kaliakmanis — a seventh-round draft pick out of Rutgers.
The Commanders are a completely different threat with Daniels under center. The LSU product is a dual-threat option with a big arm capable of executing an RPO (run-pass option) offense that could prove troublesome for the Giants.
“He’s different,” Giants head coach John Harbaugh said of Daniels. “He’s a premier quarterback who can operate just in all those modalities. I mean, he can RPO. He’s quarterback-driven. It’s drop-back pass. It’s under center, play-action, downhill run game. He does it all. He’s a very accurate passer. Outside throwing lanes, especially accurate, which is tough. Nice touch underneath.
“I mean, he’s proven himself to be a very, very dangerous quarterback, obviously. So, yeah, premier guy, and it looks like we’re going to get him, so we’re going to have to be at our best.”
The Giants’ defense continues to exceed expectations this season, much in part due to two consecutive game-clinching interceptions — one by Jevon Holland in Week 3 against the Tennessee Titans, and a 98-yard pick-six to seal Sunday’s win over the Arizona Cardinals.
Banks was named NFC Defensive Player of the Week on Wednesday, and Holland was named NFC Defensive Player of the Month for September.
“We just taught the defense really and talked to him about playing technique the right way, and he was just really amenable to it,” Harbaugh said of Banks. “We didn’t really have any kind of an in-depth conversation about the past. You know, that really wasn’t part of it. Just said, ‘Hey, man, we know what you’re capable of, let’s go play some good football.’ And maybe that was just all it took; maybe that’s all that was really needed. I do think he felt the confidence. I think he felt happy about the opportunity, maybe. Maybe he was freed up a little bit from the past, whatever happened. I mean, he had a great year his first year. So, maybe he leaned into that a little bit more. I’m not really sure, but it just wasn’t something we thought too much about. We just made it about the football, probably, more than anything.”
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