If the Tampa Bay Buccaneers end up making a run and being a factor in the NFC South, undrafted rookie quarterback Jalon Daniels will deserve a lot of the credit. 

Daniels was able to lead the Bucs to their first win of the season in Week 5 on Thursday Night Football against the Dallas Cowboys inside “Jerry’s World.” It was only Daniels’ second NFL start, and his performance while filling in for the injured Baker Mayfield helped save Tampa’s season. 

Somehow, at 1-4, the Bucs are only 1.5 games behind the 2-2 Carolina Panthers, who had their bye in Week 5, for the division lead. 

For comparison’s sake, nobody is counting out the Detroit Lions, Green Bay Packers, or Chicago Bears, who are all 3-2 but two games back of the  undefeated Minnesota Vikings in the NFC North. 

The Bucs have three winnable games up next, including two in the division, and could find themselves on top of the South at the end of October after it looked like their season might be over at the end of September. 

Much of the credit belongs to Daniels, who is playing with the poise of a seasoned veteran and not an undrafted rookie with only two starts under his belt. 

Wide receiver Chris Godwin Jr., who has had a fantastic career with over 7800 career receiving yards, has been very impressed with Daniels so far. 

Godwin appeared on the Speakeasy show and showered the rookie with praise, even claiming that players like Daniels keep players like the 30-year-old Godwin feeling young. 

According to Godwin, Daniels has an aura about him and a personality that rubs off on his teammates. 

“He has like this aura about him. He comes in very charismatic and got this childlike enthusiasm that he plays the game with…Guys like that, that keep you young, man, and it’s like, when he’s out there, he’s the star of his own movie.”

To earn praise like that from someone as distinguished as Godwin is a testament to the energy Daniels has been able to bring to the team. 

Daniels is expected to get one more start in relief of Mayfield in Week 6 when the Bucs take on the Pittsburgh Steelers. 

Now that Daniels and the Bucs have gotten their first win, it may be a lot easier to get the next one. 

Getting into the win column got a huge monkey off the team’s back, and now the Bucs can focus on making a run up the division standings instead of worrying that it may be time to start looking ahead to next year. 

There are still a ton of things that need to improved, but at least Tampa knows it has a young QB who isn’t afraid of the pressure and has proven that he has a very bright future.