Five takeaways from Washington's 13-6 loss to Miami

The Washington Commanders travelled to Miami for their second preseason game and lost to the Dolphins, 13-6. Here are five takeaways from the matchup, presented by Maryland Lottery.

1. Jayden Daniels passes another test.

You can consider it another successful outing for the Commanders rookie quarterback.

Daniels put together a solid joint practice with the Dolphins earlier this week, throwing five touchdowns during red zone drills against one of the league’s top defenses in 2023. Daniels, who saw an increased workload from the 11 snaps he got against the Jets, built upon that during the preseason game, completing 10 of his 12 pass attempts for 78 yards.

Though only one of Daniels’ two drives ended in points, it was clear that his command of the Commanders’ offense has improved over the past week. He completed his first four passes of the night, converting two third downs along the way. He also showed awareness to get rid of the ball under pressure, as he threw the ball away when feeling pressure on his right facing a third-and-6 at the Dolphins’ 31-yard line.

Another positive sign from Daniels was that he was throwing players into opportunities to make plays after the catch. That was the case on a pass to Terry McLaurin, who caught the pass on a comeback route and turned it into a 20-yard gain.

The only negative that Daniels had on the night was electing not to slide after a 13-yard gain, which earned a few words from head coach Dan Quinn on the sideline. That was a problem for Daniels in college, and it led to some distressing hits.

Aside from that one mistake, Daniels took another step towards being the team’s starting quarterback.