FRISCO, Texas — Jayden Daniels is where the Dallas Cowboys have to start with the Washington Commanders offense, Stephen Jones said Friday.
Washington may be cutting back some of Daniels’ reps to prevent injury, Jones said on 105.3 The Fan’s “G-Bag Nation.”
“You got to start with number five,” Jones said. “Their quarterback is, I know they’re probably intentionally trying to cut some reps back to prevent injury. No one wants to expose their quarterback. At the same time, all you’ve got to do is turn on the tape and see that he can do it. So anytime you’re playing a team not unlike last week where they have a lot of athletic ability under center, that’s a dimension that you have to account for.”
“He’s really good at it. He’s also really good throwing the ball, and it all starts with him,” Jones continued. “They’ve got some really good receivers for him to get the ball to, and certainly you’ve got to be aware of that. And then, as we all know, they’re going to want to run the ball as well. And certainly after seeing the tape last week, we expect to see it.”
Jayden Daniels In The Washington Commanders Opener
Washington lost 24-22 at the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday. Daniels went 18-of-34 for 164 yards and 2 touchdowns and ran 5 times for 31 yards. The Commanders ran for 132 yards as a team.
Washington drafted Daniels No. 2 overall in 2024, and he was the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year that season. Against Dallas at AT&T Stadium on Oct. 19, 2025, he went 12-of-22 for 156 yards and 1 touchdown and ran 8 times for 35 yards and 1 touchdown in a 44-22 Cowboys win.
The Commanders ruled out linebacker Frankie Luvu and tight end Chig Okonkwo for Sunday.
Stephen Jones On Daronte Jones And Dan Quinn
Daronte Jones is in his first season as Washington’s defensive coordinator. He interviewed for the same job in Dallas before the Cowboys hired Christian Parker in January. Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer called Daronte Jones himself to tell him. Daronte Jones spent five seasons with the Minnesota Vikings, most recently as defensive pass game coordinator, and called plays as LSU’s defensive coordinator in 2021.
Daronte Jones was right there at the end as a candidate in Dallas, Stephen Jones said. Commanders coach Dan Quinn was the Cowboys’ defensive coordinator from 2021 to 2023.
“I think some of the same things. He’s a young mind. He’s been around a lot of great coaches,” Stephen Jones said. “He was very impressive with us, certainly was right there at the end as a candidate for us. Nothing but respect for him and know he’s going to be a … coupling him with DQ, who’s got the defensive side of the ball, and him in terms of, even though he’s the head coach, as we all know he was defensive coordinator here.”
“So that’s a challenge, a great challenge for our offense,” Stephen Jones continued. “At the same time, it’s one that we feel like that we can go out and do what we need to do to have success and hopefully ultimately win the game.”
Washington sacked Jalen Hurts three times in the opener. Kickoff Sunday at AT&T Stadium is 3:25 p.m. CT on FOX.
