Thursday night brings another rookie-quarterback reunion, and this one has a very different feel than the first. J.J. McCarthy and Jayden Daniels are set to meet again in Week 10, three weeks after Caleb Williams and Drake Maye squared off on Thursday Night Football, with the two 2024 first-rounders now heading in opposite directions.
Their last matchup came last season, when the Commanders and Vikings met and Minnesota blanked Washington 31-0. That game was part of a rookie year that could hardly have gone more differently for the two passers.
Daniels was the class’s standout, powering Washington to the NFC championship game and taking home Offensive Rookie of the Year. McCarthy never got on the field after tearing his meniscus, watching as Sam Darnold guided Minnesota to the playoffs.
Now both quarterbacks are in new stages of their careers, and McCarthy is doing it with a new team entirely. Daniels entered 2026 looking to bounce back after missing 10 games with injury last season, while Washington also reset around him.
Dan Quinn stayed in place, but both coordinators were replaced. On offense, David Blough was promoted to OC and asked to install a more traditional, under-center approach after the Commanders had leaned heavily on a no-huddle, shotgun system under Kliff Kingsbury.
The roster changed plenty too, especially on defense, as Washington tried to fix one of the league’s worst units from 2025.
The results have been uneven. There are stretches when Daniels and the offense look sharp, like the first half against the Rams, when Washington carried a 10-6 lead into halftime. Then there are the flat spells, including the second half of that same loss, when the Commanders failed to pick up a single first down in the third quarter.
The numbers reflect that inconsistency. Washington is 20th in yards per game at 325.4, 20th in passing yards per game at 207.4, 21st in points per game at 21 and 22nd in EPA per play at -0.08. Injuries to Laremy Tunsil and Terry McLaurin have made things harder, but the offense still isn’t fully living up to what it should be.
Daniels, for his part, is still playing well outside of a few game-management mistakes. He just hasn’t quite carried the team the way he did as a rookie.
And with the Commanders sitting in a strange place - low playoff hopes, a crowded wild-card race, and a Thursday win that would only pull them to within two games of the Giants in the NFC East - the bigger question is what comes next. Daniels isn’t sliding backward, but he also hasn’t built on that breakout season.
McCarthy’s path has been much bumpier, but his latest turn has put him on an upward track. After spending his rookie year on the sideline, he opened 2025 as Minnesota’s starter.
The Vikings had a winning record with him, and he improved in the second half, but his inconsistency and accuracy issues pushed Minnesota to look elsewhere at quarterback. They signed Kyler Murray last offseason, Murray won the job this summer, Carson Wentz became the backup, and McCarthy was traded to the Giants for a fifth-round pick after Week 3.
His arrival in New York didn’t lead to an immediate change. He waited nearly three games behind Jameis Winston before the Giants turned to him in the second half of a loss to the Saints.
McCarthy responded with 243 yards in the fourth quarter, then earned the start against the Texans. Since taking over, he has gone 2-0, completing 63.2% of his passes for 622 yards, one touchdown and one interception.
That stretch has given McCarthy his best momentum since his preseason debut as a rookie before the meniscus injury. He still has plenty to prove, but with the Giants he’s finally moving in the right direction and drawing praise for throws to Malik Nabers, Isaiah Likely and Malachi Fields.
This will be McCarthy’s first prime-time game since joining the Giants, and it gives him a national stage to keep building on that momentum. A win would do more than add to his résumé; it would strengthen New York’s position in the NFC East and keep the Giants on track for a playoff berth.
For Washington, the game feels like a measuring stick. Daniels and the offense need to show they can find a steady rhythm and keep the season alive, but the bigger question is whether this team can give him enough support. Thursday night may not decide Daniels’s future, but it should say plenty about where the Commanders are headed with him at the center.
In Other News...
Dan Quinn Finally Addressed A Costly Commanders Problem
Late-game trouble has become a familiar and frustrating theme around the Commanders, and Dan Quinn finally acknowledged it after the recent loss to the Rams. With two first-year coordinators in David Blough on offense and Daronte Jones on defense, Quinn suggested there are bound to be some growing pains as the staff and roster continue to sort out how to finish games cleanly.
The ending against Los Angeles only sharpened the issue, with Jayden Daniels involved in a controversial play call that ended in a fumble and a loss. Daniels and Quinn both declined to go into much detail afterward, leaving the Commanders with the same lingering question they have been trying to answer all season: how to avoid letting games slip away in the final moments. [Read more 🡒]
Commanders Face One Week 10 Decision That Could Swing Fantasy Lineups
The Week 10 matchup with the Giants has turned into a tricky fantasy puzzle for anyone building a DraftKings showdown lineup around Washington. Jayden Daniels remains the obvious centerpiece after his recent production and dual-threat upside, while the rest of the Commanders offense has to be sorted through a matchup that also puts New York playmakers like Malik Nabers on the radar. Tight ends Isaiah Likely and Chig Okonkwo, along with kickers Dominic Zvada and Drew Stevens, round out the pool of names that could matter in a one-game format where every touch and every field goal attempt can swing the slate.
Washingtons backfield adds another layer of uncertainty for fantasy managers trying to read the game script. The Commanders have settled into a two-man running back committee, which makes it harder to project volume and forces a closer look at how touches will be divided in a matchup that could stay tight. For a team still trying to balance efficiency with opportunity, that split could be the difference between a useful lineup play and a frustrating fade. [Read more 🡒]
Dan Quinn Faces A Bigger Commanders Debate As Losses Keep Mounting
The losses have piled up enough in Washington that Dan Quinn is no longer being judged only on game plans and injury luck. The Commanders coach has drawn sharper criticism this season for a team that has struggled to find traction in 2025 and 2026, with the conversation around him widening beyond the usual weekly frustrations and into a more basic question about whether the program is headed in the right direction.
Steve Smith added to that pressure during an ESPN appearance, saying he has doubts about Quinns fit in the top job. The former NFL wide receiver pointed to what he sees as a troubling pattern of mismanagement, and his comments have only fed a debate that is getting louder as the Commanders keep searching for answers. For now, there has been no formal word on Quinns status, but the scrutiny around him is clearly building. [Read more 🡒]