The veteran backup threw three touchdown passes in Sunday’s 33-31 upset of the Super Bowl champion Seahawks.
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When Jayden Daniels suffered a dislocated left elbow a week ago, the “next man up” clichés came in waves. That was usually the response when players and coaches were asked about Marcus Mariota’s ability to lead the offense in his absence. Considering how often that mantra is uttered whenever someone gets hurt, it typically gets brushed aside.
For Mariota, though, that mindset is his every day. He transitioned from being a full-time starter to a backup years ago. While that meant far fewer snaps in practice, it didn’t change the mentality he carries day-to-day.
To be prepared to step in, he had to continue to think, operate and game-plan as the starter. That breeds calm whenever he’s called upon.
“I really try to focus on keeping that mentality the same throughout,” Mariota said Wednesday. “The transition is relatively easy.”
That showed against the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday, when Mariota completed 61.3 percent of his passes for 183 yards and three touchdowns. He didn’t commit any turnovers and iced the 33-31 win on a scramble late in the fourth quarter at Northwest Stadium.
As good as Mariota looked, there’s no uncertainty about Daniels’s standing. If he’s healthy, he’ll be the starter.
What Mariota’s performance does, however, is allow the Commanders (1-2) to avoid rushing Daniels’s return. They were always going to exercise caution coming off his second elbow dislocation, but this makes it easier to stick to that plan.
Washington will travel to London on Tuesday ahead of Sunday’s game against the Indianapolis Colts (1-2). Although Daniels watched from the sidelines Sunday, it’s unclear whether he will make the trip.
Mariota didn’t want to overreact to his performance against the Seahawks. As he pointed out, it’s just one game. That said, it carries more value because of the Commanders’ opponent.
The Seattle defense had allowed just 17 points and given up 3.8 yards per play over the first two games of the season. Mariota guided an offense that scored five times.
“I know it’s only one week, but I really think that this is a big-time stepping stone for us moving forward,” Mariota said. “The more that we can learn from our mistakes, the more that we can build off of this.”
Mariota hit 11 different targets for completions, and each of his touchdown passes went to a different player. That made it more difficult for the Seahawks to key in on any player in coverage.
“We’ve got a bunch of ballers in our room,” said wide receiver Treylon Burks, who caught one of those touchdown passes. “We just show up and, whoever’s name is called, we know we have full faith that they’re goin’ go out there and make the play. It shows up.”
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None stood out more than wide receiver Terry McLaurin. He caught six passes for 77 yards, including a 30-yard touchdown reception in the third quarter.
McLaurin had just four catches coming into Sunday and hadn’t been as involved in the offense as in past years. Although he didn’t have a monster game, it felt like a breakthrough.
“I don’t really lose faith in myself, and neither do my teammates,” McLaurin said. “I know the ball is going to come my way; it’s just about being consistent and making the play. … Being a part of this team where they trust me to be a leader and a playmaker, I just wanted to put that on display.”
Mariota’s play didn’t surprise McLaurin. His confidence in Washington’s backup quarterback is genuine.
“Marcus is an unbelievable person and human being, first and foremost,” McLaurin said. “I call him a salt of the earth person where he just comes in our building every single day looking to serve. When he’s in the backup role when Jayden’s starting, he’s doing nothing but supporting Jayden, supporting us, being communicative on the sidelines. When he’s been in there, we believe wholeheartedly he gives us a chance to win. …
“As long as Marcus is back there, we have trust in him just like we have trust in Jayden.”
Washington’s defensive coaching staff made a performance-based change to their cornerback rotation: Mike Sainristil had been a starter at outside cornerback through the first two games, but he was benched Sunday in favor of Rasul Douglas.
Douglas proceeded to rotate with Fabian Moreau throughout the game. Sainristil still played, but he was relegated to the nickelback role. Douglas played 43 snaps while Sainristil logged 25 and Moreau got 19.
Cornerback Amik Robertson played all but two of the defensive snaps and was the lone bright spot in the secondary. He gave up just three receptions for 46 yards and one touchdown, according to the analytics platform NFL Pro. He also had four pass deflections and was effective in the run game with six tackles and a forced fumble.
The secondary allowed quarterback Sam Darnold to pass for 379 yards and four touchdowns. While they also intercepted him twice, that’s still not the type of pass defense the Commanders want. …
Right guard Sam Cosmi (concussion) didn’t play, which led to a reconfigured offensive line. Nick Allegretti, who had started the first two games at center, slid to right guard to replace Cosmi. Reserve offensive lineman Lucas Patrick then started at center. Allegretti briefly moved back to center when Patrick suffered an ankle injury, but Patrick returned to finish the game. …
Safety Percy Butler was placed in the concussion protocol. He and linebacker Leo Chenal, who suffered a neck injury in the second quarter and was hospitalized, will continue to be evaluated Monday.
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