“I give myself high marks. We didn’t win. I’m a competitor. I like to win, but overall it went well, pretty well,” Daniels said of his first NFL regular-season action. “There’s a couple things we left on the field offensively. We’ve got to do better, but it’s a long season. We’ll move on from this.”

It’s important to give yourself a high rating, but also to enjoy the process and find the positives in a loss. After all, this team wants players who love football, assistant general manager Lance Newmark said recently. And to truly love something, you have to enjoy it.

While the overall result is a loss, there are certainly gains that the Commanders will look to build on while correcting their missteps.

One of those building blocks, offensive lineman Sam Cosmi said, is his young quarterback’s proven composure.

“I think for the first time, he had a lot coming at him, and I think his ability to stay calm in adversity in general was really strong,” Cosmi said of Daniels. “I didn’t sense any hesitation or panic or anything like that from him. There was a moment at the very end — we were in the huddle during a timeout and we looked at each other like, ‘Hey man, we (got) something here. It’s a two-minute drive — we can do something. Let’s learn from this.'”

Since arriving in Washington, Daniels has been praised for his poise, calm demeanor and professionalism rarely seen in an NFL rookie at any position. But to be praised by a teammate like Cosmi, who last week received a hard-earned four-year extension, took the often-heard compliment to a new level of significance.

“That says a lot, especially from someone who’s obviously done it at a high level, you know, got the second contract, stuff like that, played at a high level,” Daniels said of hearing Cosmi’s praise. “For him to say that about me, it means a lot. Especially that’s the type of teammate I try to be, where someone can look at me and say, ‘Hey, no matter what happens, that guy’s going to do everything he can.'”

And Daniels did give it his all. And that’s exactly what the Commanders need from him to continue to find small successes while chasing the victories that come from continuing that work to become the team they believe they can be.

READ MORE: Commanders Defeated in Week 1 Loss to Buccaneers

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