Practice notes | Commanders prepare for prime time fight against Bengals

The main attraction for the evening will be Daniels and Joe Burrow, both of whom won the Heisman Trophy while playing at LSU, facing off against each other for the first time. Daniels and Burrow broke several program and NCAA records with the Tigers; Daniels is the only player in FBS history with 12,000 passing yards and 3,000 rushing yards, while Burrow completed his career the best completion rate (68.5%) and passing touchdowns (76) in school history.

Daniels hasn’t spoken to Burrow leading up to the Monday night game, but he has respect for the player Burrow was at LSU and is with the Bengals.

“It’s big for the whole state of Louisiana to see both of us go up against each other,” Daniels said.

Daniels won’t be directly competing against Burrow, though, and for a defense that ranks 23rd in passing yards allowed, he will present some problems. Burrow’s 67.7% completion rate ranks 14th in the NFL, and while he has been sacked six times — tied for fourth-most in the NFL — he has yet to throw an interception.

Against the Kansas City Chiefs, who boast one of the better secondaries playing today, Burrow with 23-of-36 for 258 yards and two scores, albeit in a 26-25 losing effort. The loss marked the third consecutive time the Bengals have started with back-to-back defeats, but the Commanders’ players aren’t looking at records to prepare for the primetime game; rather, they’re more focused on Burrow and how his weapons can hurt them.

“Oh, they’re a really good football team,” defensive tackle Jonathan Allen said of the Bengals. “When you have a quarterback like Joe Burrow and receivers like Ja’Marr Chase and the players that they have, it’s always going to be exciting to go against them.”