TAMPA — Undrafted rookie quarterback Jalon Daniels entered a scoreless Buccaneers offense Saturday night at Raymond James Stadium and led all three Tampa Bay scoring drives in a preseason matchup against the Kansas City Chiefs.
The Buccaneers managed just 95 total yards and went 0-for-5 on third-down conversions before Daniels took over on the second drive of the second half. He finished with 71 passing yards, 19 rushing yards and a passing touchdown — a two-yard strike to tight end Ko Kieft that capped a seven-play, 49-yard drive in the third quarter. Two fourth-quarter possessions produced a 46-yard field goal and a 22-yard touchdown march set up by a Roman Parodie interception.
“I just come in with confidence,” Daniels said after the game. “I think I’m very confident with everything that I do within this game of football. I’ve been playing since I was seven years old, and when you think of it like that, when you go out there and play football, you’re kind of just like, ‘All right, bet.’ I’ve been dreaming to be in this position since I was that young and every single opportunity that comes my way, whenever my number is called, I’m going to go out there and do it 100% confidently, do it out there with a smile and go out there and play 100% hard.”
Daniels arrived in Tampa with six seasons (2020-2025) at the University of Kansas, where he finished second in program history in passing yards (9,282), passing touchdowns (67) and completions (734) while tying the school record for career rushing touchdowns by a quarterback with 23. He became one of only two players in Jayhawk history to surpass 10,000 career yards of total offense. He credited his time in Lawrence for his composure under pressure, citing what he called the “rule of zero.”
“Rule of zero just means you want to be able to get back to the line of scrimmage no matter what,” Daniels explained. “You don’t want to make a bad play worse. You’ve got to be the eraser. When there’s something bad going on, you can’t allow it to continue. So, when the ball hits the ground, at the end of the day, get back to the line of scrimmage.”
Head Coach Todd Bowles praised the quarterback’s football intelligence during his postgame press conference. “For a rookie, he is a very smart player,” Bowles said. “He pays attention in the meetings. He is great in the building. He wants to know everything, he processes everything well. That was an example of it. He executed it well and he played good ball.”
The performance marked the second consecutive preseason game in which Daniels provided a spark after the offense stalled — a pattern that strengthens his case for a roster spot as final cuts approach. Kansas City’s 69-yard field goal on the final snap of the first half had put Tampa Bay down 9-0 before Daniels’ entrance. His family flew from Los Angeles to watch.
“My family, that’s what I was looking at, at first,” Daniels said. “They were right above the tunnel. They flew all the way out here from Los Angeles. I always love when my mom and my pops are able to come out here and watch me play football. Then, just being able to celebrate the win with all the Bucs fans that were at the tunnel as well was amazing.”
The Buccaneers close the preseason schedule next week, giving Daniels at least one more opportunity to make his case before the 53-man roster deadline.