For four seasons, Kliff Kingsbury prowled the sideline at State Farm Stadium as the head coach of the Arizona Cardinals. During his time in charge, the Cardinals made it to the playoffs just once, advancing as a wild-card team during the 2021 season. Arizona was quickly bounced out of those playoffs, losing to the Los Angeles Rams by a final score of 34-11.
Dan Quinn did not hold back when giving Kliff Kingsbury a game ball
Kliff Kingsbury got a game ball and an earful in emotional Commanders-Cardinals postgame speech from Dan Quinn
Mark Schofield is a former college quarterback and attorney covering the NFL and F1.
Kingsbury was fired at the end of the 2022 season, as the Cardinals limped to a 4-13 finish. His tenure in Arizona came to an end with a 28-37-1 record, and just one playoff game, the loss to the Rams.
After taking a year at USC under Lincoln Riley, Kingsbury was hired as the offensive coordinator for the Washington Commanders under Dan Quinn this past offseason, putting him in charge of an offense with rookie quarterback — and second-overall selection — Jayden Daniels at the helm.
Kingsbury was back at State Farm Stadium on Sunday, as the Commanders traveled west to take on the Cardinals, his old team. All Daniels and the Commanders did on Sunday was hang 42 points on the board, as Washington improved to 3-1 on the season. The rookie quarterback hit on 26-of-30 passes for 233 yards, with a touchdown and an interception, as Washington won by a final score of 42-12.
That performance saw Daniels become the first quarterback in NFL history to have two straight games with a completion percentage above 85%:
The performance also earned Kingsbury one of the game balls, presented to him by Quinn in a rather ... emotional post-game speech:
The Commanders are 3-1 and Daniels looks like the real deal. What a time to be alive.
See More:
