Sometimes, you know greatness early on. Sometimes, it takes time. But when two-time Super Bowl champion QB Ben Roethlisberger took to the field for the Pittsburgh Steelers as a rookie in 2004, people knew he would be good. And the same could be said about Washington Commanders’ QB Jayden Daniels.
In fact, Daniels did something in 2024 that hadn’t been done since Roethlisberger in 2004. He tied Roethlisberger’s record for most wins in a season as a rookie at 14. His performances certainly caught Roethlisberger’s eyes. So much so that he thinks Daniels was a better rookie than Roethlisberger, who won Rookie of the Year.
“He was playing much better football than I was as a rookie,” said Roethlisberger on Tuesday’s episode of Footbahlin with Ben Roethlisberger. “I was just trying to survive, and he was leading the team. I was fortunate that I had a group of guys around me that were veterans, that we had a great defense, and we had Jerome and guys that they didn’t have to lean on me. The Commanders leaned on him. He was playing great football… What I’ve seen, if he continues to improve, he’s gonna be a game changer for a long time.”
There’s no question Jayden Daniels had a stellar rookie season for Washington. He completed 69 percent of his passes for 3,568 yards and 25 touchdowns while only throwing nine interceptions. He averaged 7.4 yards per attempt and 209.9 yards per game. And he could run the ball, too. He carried the ball 148 times for 891 yards, an average of 6.0 yards per rush, and six rushing touchdowns.
Now, you can say it’s not fair to compare Roethlisberger’s rookie season in 2004 to Daniels’ in 2024 stats-wise. The game has changed significantly in two decades, certainly. Roethlisberger was the Rookie of the Year but only attempted 295 passes (he did complete 66.4 percent of them, though). Daniels attempted 480. But he also completed a higher percentage than Roethlisberger.
Roethlisberger also points out that he had a phenomenal supporting cast in Pittsburgh as a rookie. The 2003 Steelers were not stellar, with QB Tommy Maddox under center. However, WR Hines Ward still had 1,163 yards receiving and 10 touchdowns. And RB Jerome Bettis had 811 yards rushing and seven touchdowns that season. WR Plaxico Burress chipped in 860 receiving yards and four touchdowns.
And the defense? The Steelers had linebackers Joey Porter Sr. and James Farrior, as well as defensive linemen Casey Hampton and Aaron Smith. The secondary had DB Ike Taylor and a young safety named Troy Polamalu. The Steelers had a core of both young and veteran players for Roethlisberger to step into as a rookie.
The Commanders weren’t bereft of talent, either. But in 2023, they had a 4-13 record. They averaged 19.4 points per game, 25th in the league, and gave up 30.5 points per game, dead last in the league. In 2024, the Commanders averaged 28.5 points per game, fifth in the league, while giving up 23 points per game, 18th in the league. They skyrocketed to the top of the league offensively, largely thanks to Daniels.
The passing attempts show just how much faith the Commanders had in Jayden Daniels as a rookie. And that’s what stuck out to Roethlisberger—that, and the fact that Daniels proved that faith was not misplaced.
Roethlisberger’s first NFL head coach, Bill Cowher, agrees with Roethlisberger. Cowher noted that the Commanders put more on Daniels’ plate earlier than the Steelers did with Roethlisberger, which paid off.
And who are we to argue with a Hall of Fame head coach and soon-to-be Hall of Fame quarterback? Jayden Daniels had a better rookie season than Ben Roethlisberger. But who ends up with the better NFL career remains to be seen. Roethlisberger certainly set the bar even higher than his rookie year.
