Kliff Kingsbury strode from State Farm Stadium dressed head to toe in black after tearing apart his former team in a 42-14 Washington Commanders victory over the Arizona Cardinals.
Kingsbury returned to face the club he'd helmed from 2019-2022, including a 2021 postseason run. Not only did he help his new club win, but the offensive coordinator's unit, led by rookie Jayden Daniels, ripped his former team to shreds.
The Commanders scored on seven of nine possessions, punting just once -- for the first time since Week 1 -- and Daniels threw his first interception of the season. Washington rolled up 449 yards of offense with 29 first downs, going a whopping 9-of-12 on third downs and 4-of-5 in the red zone.
After the resounding victory, head coach Dan Quinn made sure Kingsbury got his flowers in the return to the desert.
Kingsbury downplayed his return to Arizona last week, noting he had "nothing but positive memories" despite how things ended. A few Commanders players also had ties to the area: tight end Zach Ertz, who played for the Cards from 2021 to 2023, or Daniels, who started his college career at Arizona State. Ertz noted they all had to keep their emotions in check.
"If we gave this game any more importance than we needed to or any other game, we'd be doing a disservice to our teammates," Ertz said, via The Washington Post.
Kingsbury's offense is on an unprecedented roll.
Through four weeks, Washington has generated 23 scoring drives with just 19 incomplete passes and four punts. The 1973 Rams are the only other team in the Super Bowl era with more scoring drives (21) than incomplete passes (14) in their first four games of a season, per NFL Research.
Daniels has been sensational out of the gate, completing 82.1 percent of his passes, the highest ever in a team's first four games of a season (all QBs, not just rookies). Credit Kingsbury for helping put the rookie signal-caller in positive situations and ensuring the QB has an answer each play.
The Commanders lead the NFC East after four games.
"It's fun times right now, the way we came out together and played as one unit," receiver Terry McLaurin said. "When you do that and capitalize on opportunities, then you get opportunities to win big games like this. We're excited to celebrate this on the way back, but get ready to come back home [to face] a good Browns team."
