Player betting 101: Jayden Daniels (& NFL Bet Builder)

After a more than shaky return under centre last week for the Washington Commanders at home to the resurgent Chicago Bears, Jayden Daniels gets a chance to put things right this Sunday.

It’s been a season of stark contrasts for the Cowboys, who are a top-three offence in the league. However, they rank dead last in several key metrics on the defensive side of the ball. These include the secondary, where the likes of Trevon Diggs and DaRon Bland have struggled to rediscover their form under ex-defensive coordinator and now Commanders Head Coach, Dan Quinn.

Both sides are coming off tough and unexpected losses, so a get-right game is in order, and by now, everyone knows the Cowboys must put up a lot of points to at least remain competitive in games, such is the lacklustre nature of their defence, something Daniels should be licking his lips at the prospect of coming up against.

Defence is out the window at AT&T

The Commanders travel to one of their NFC East rivals, the Dallas Cowboys, with the second-year NFL starter looking to feast upon an incredibly woeful defence at the AT&T Stadium.

Despite a slow and injury-interrupted start to the season, Daniels’ qualities are there for all to see after taking the Commanders to the NFC Championship game in his first NFL season, and in two of his four games this season, he’s thrown for over 300 yards.

In fact, even dating back to the entirety of the regular season last year, Daniels has won all three of the games that he’s started in the NFL and thrown for over 300 yards, with two of the wins coming over the past few weeks.

Although he threw for three touchdowns last week against the Bears, Daniels was restricted to just 211 yards, one interception, and his longest completion was just 37 yards. That’s something the Cowboys’ defence could only dream about, having even allowed the now-benched Russell Wilson to throw a 48-yard touchdown pass earlier in the season.

Commanders yet to get going

While the Commanders sit second in the NFC East with a record of 3-3 (Daniels is 2-2 on the season), they’ve struggled to set things alight like last season. However, there are no other teams in the NFL right now, barring perhaps the Tennessee Titans, who will be more forgiving to an offence than the Cowboys.

A win for Daniels is crucial for both his confidence with the ball in his hands, but also to ensure they are still in the running for the post-season, because a loss against a division rival would be a disaster.

Daniels is yet to throw an interception this season in a game in which he comes out victorious, so keeping the ball secure will be key, although against a defence ranked in the bottom five for takeaways should allow the quarterback to take some more risks.

Going long

The deep ball has been a constant weapon for teams to use against the Cowboys this season, and with Daniels having thrown at least one pass per game over 34 yards or longer in all bar one match, don’t be surprised to see him take some risks.

The California-born star is being tipped to use his arm to its full potential on Sunday night, with ‘Jayden Daniels to complete a pass over 22.5 yards’ being found at a modest 5/6, which could be useful on a bet builder.

A shootout is brewing in Texas

No matter how good the Commanders’ defence has looked under Quinn, they’ve recorded the sixth-most sacks in the league; they will be put under severe pressure from an inspired Dak Prescott, forcing Daniels to get busy on offence.

Only the Eagles have failed to score a passing touchdown against the Cowboys this season, and out of the five teams to have passed into the endzone, it’s only the 0-6 New York Jets who’ve done it on fewer than three occasions.

So, with both offences expected to fire and Daniels now having a game under his belt post-injury, going for him and the Commanders to throw for over 3.5 touchdowns at 11/10 could certainly be worth a look at.

Blowouts aren’t a thing in Dallas

Four of the Cowboys’ six games this season have been decided by four points or fewer, including the rarity in the NFL of a tie vs the Green Bay Packers, and at home, they’re yet to taste defeat, so despite their record, Daniels will have to step up.

The road team are still heavy favourites for this one at 8/11, but going for a more specific type of win and getting them to come away with an important W by 1-6 points could show value at 3/1.

Bet Builder tip – Commanders @ Cowboys: 19th October 40/1

We strongly believe in this game being one of the highest scoring affairs of the weekend and could allow for some great value on some gutsy picks:

Anytime touchdown – George Pickens
Game to go to overtime
Commanders to win

Anytime touchdown – George Pickens

The likes of George Pickens and potentially healthy CeeDee Lamb will be asked to do a lot of the work as the Commanders are the 10th-best team in the NFL at defending Tight Ends, much to the annoyance of in-form Jake Ferguson.

While on paper, this bet builder looks to provide mouthwatering odds, they could well be shorter come gameday, depending on Lamb’s injury, because if he is out, then Pickens is Prescott’s wide receiver 1.

Game to go to overtime

Both of the Cowboys’ home games this season – against the New York Giants and the Packers – have gone to overtime. They are two very different teams with differing records, but the Cowboys were able to keep up with the latter on offence but also give up enough points to the former to offer the overtime price.

Commanders to win

And lastly, for the Commanders to win, you could even take them on the -1.5 handicap if you believe in a Daniels masterclass – but we’re sticking with the straight win – because their defence will likely come up with a game-winning stop when needed.

For the Cowboys, they’re forced to go up against long-time destroyer of their defence, Deebo Samuel, who is the eighth most productive wide receiver this season, coming up against the worst-ranked team at defending that position.