Monday night was Jayden Daniels’ debut party.

The Commanders rookie quarterback went 21 of 23 for 254 yards and two touchdowns while also running for a touchdown in a 38-33 win over the Bengals, but the biggest sign of his arrival came on a fourth down in the fourth quarter. That’s when the Commanders relied on Daniels to throw a pass to tight end Zach Ertz to keep a drive alive, and Daniels delivered with a conversion that kept the drive alive and set up a touchdown throw to Terry McLaurin that capped an upset victory.

After the game, Daniels was asked if he was surprised by how quickly he found success in the NFL.

“Yes and no,” Daniels said in his post-game press conference. “Yes, because it’s obviously something new for me as I continue this journey in my rookie year. But I’ve also worked hard at it and what’s done in the dark always comes to light. I just know that I’m prepared for these moments, week in and week out. I just have to go out there, play football and execute.”

The Commanders have been a losing franchise for years, but it took Daniels just three games to give them real reason to hope that better days are coming soon. On Monday night, she gave reason to think those days will come before the calendar turns to a new year.