Amik Robertson recalls Daniels as a playoff headache
Amik Robertson says facing Jayden Daniels in the 2024 NFC playoffs was a headache for Detroit’s defense, and that the then-rookie already slowed the game down on the biggest stage. Now teammates with Washington, Robertson praises Daniels’ perfectionism in training camp and says he is glad to be on the same side.
Key Takeaways
- Amik Robertson called preparing for Jayden Daniels in the 2024 NFC divisional round a “headache” after a full week of game-planning failed to stop him.
- Daniels completed 71% of his passes for nearly 300 yards and two touchdowns, added 51 rushing yards, and was not sacked in that playoff win over Detroit.
- Robertson, a Louisiana native who watched Daniels at LSU, says few rookies can slow the game down the way Daniels did on that stage.
- In camp, Robertson noted Daniels’ frustration after an interception as proof he wants to be perfect for the Commanders.
Washington’s offseason addition of cornerback Amik Robertson has already produced a memorable teammate testimony. The former Detroit Lion is heading back to face his old club with a very different vantage point: Daniels is now his quarterback, not the problem he spent a week trying to solve.
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What did Amik Robertson say about facing Jayden Daniels?
Asked what he remembered most about preparing for Daniels, Robertson’s answer was blunt: it was a headache. He recalled seeing Daniels’ LSU tape as a Louisiana guy, then watching the same traits show up in the NFL.
“To see he’s that young, to be able to go out there and to be able to see the game. Slow the game down for a rookie, it’s not too many people that, quarterbacks that come out there and do that,” Robertson said, per Commanders Wire. The Lions game-planned for Daniels all week. It still did not work.
Washington won that divisional-round matchup by two touchdowns. Daniels shredded Detroit’s defense with high-efficiency passing, two scores, no interceptions, and meaningful yardage on the ground. It was also the only playoff game in which he was not sacked.
Why does Robertson’s view of Daniels matter now?
Robertson spent his first four NFL seasons with the Las Vegas Raiders before joining the Lions in 2024. Signing with the Commanders this offseason puts him on the same roster as the quarterback who once tormented his secondary.
That full-circle moment lands as Washington returns to Detroit and as Daniels enters his third NFL season looking to bounce back after a 5-12 campaign. Robertson credits Detroit with helping him “find myself again,” but says he is glad to wear burgundy and gold now.
How has Amik Robertson described Daniels in training camp?
After watching Daniels work through camp, Robertson pointed to the quarterback’s reaction to his lone interception in practice. Daniels was “hot” about the mistake, Robertson said, because he holds himself to a perfectionist standard and feels he lets the team down when he errs.
“He wants to be perfect. He wants to be the best,” Robertson said, according to Sports Illustrated’s Commanders Daily. Teammates, he added, are always rooting for Daniels and will “run through a wall for him.”
Part of Daniels’ early NFL polish traces to five college seasons—three at Arizona State and two at LSU, capped by the 2023 Heisman. Robertson’s playoff memory and camp praise together frame why Washington’s defense once feared him and why its locker room now rides with him.