It’s been a challenging seven days or so for Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels after the way their Week 5 matchup against the New York Giants ended.

Yet, early in Monday night’s showdown against the San Francisco 49ers, Daniels did himself no favors in proving that his decision-making and overall football IQ are where they need to be.

Daniels Makes Costly Red-Zone Mistake

In the first half, while trailing 13-3, the Commanders were in the red zone and facing fourth-and-2.

When you’re going for it on fourth down, you want to make a play and extend the drive. Even taking a sack gives your receivers a chance to make something happen, because an incomplete pass or a failed conversion results in a turnover on downs anyway.

The one thing you don’t want to do is fail to give your receivers a chance to make a play on the ball. That’s exactly what Daniels did.

Rolling to his right, Daniels elected to throw the football sky-high and out of bounds. Although the Commanders were flagged for illegal motion on the play, completing the pass could have given them another down to attempt a field goal after San Francisco accepted the penalty, which would have made it fourth-and-7.

Instead, because Daniels threw the ball away, the 49ers declined the penalty and took possession.

Check it out:

Jayden Daniels after making a massive mental mistake last week: it won’t happen again

Jayden Daniels on 4th down: https://t.co/ifzU4k8r48

— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) October 20, 2026

Daniels Faces Backlash for Decision

ESPN announcers Joe Buck and Troy Aikman both called out Daniels for a decision that simply can’t happen in that situation.

“Another game situation mistake for Jayden Daniels,” Buck said on the broadcast.

“You just can’t do that,” Aikman added. “On 4th down you have to give one of your guys at least a chance to go get it … you can see the frustration from Dan Quinn.”

Fans also took to social media to criticize Daniels for throwing the ball away on fourth down.

“Jayden Daniels actually has 0 situational awareness,” one fan wrote.

Someone else added, “Did… did Jayden Daniels just throw the ball away on 4th down?! I take back anything I said about that end of game play being on coaches. Jayden’s just a moron.”

Another person posted, “This broadcast needs to circle back on Jayden Daniels throwing the ball away on 4th down. Doing that any week is unacceptably stupid.”