The Washington Commanders are headed into Week 3 without Jayden Daniels, and the setback comes in ugly fashion. Head coach Dan Quinn said Daniels suffered a dislocated left elbow in Sunday’s 37-20 loss to the Dallas Cowboys, the same elbow he injured last season.
Quinn said Daniels will go through more testing on Monday. The early good news is that initial X-rays ruled out a fracture. Quinn also said there’s “optimism” Daniels will play again this season, though the full evaluation will determine the timeline and whether surgery is needed.
The injury happened late in the first half on a third-and-goal snap. Daniels slipped as he tried to receive the ball, then landed awkwardly while trying to brace himself on the turf.
It’s another brutal turn for the third-year quarterback, who already dealt with a knee sprain and a hamstring injury during his injury-riddled 2025 season. That year ended with the dislocated elbow in Washington’s 38-14 loss to the Seahawks, and Daniels missed three games after that previous elbow injury.
Nearly a year later, Washington finds itself in the same spot: moving forward without its starting quarterback, at least for now.
Marcus Mariota stepped in against Dallas and finished with 111 passing yards and a touchdown in limited action. He’ll be the starter again when the Commanders face Seattle in Week 3.
Washington is still searching for its first win, and Mariota will have to try to get it against a Seahawks defense that was dominant against Arizona, allowing just 151 total yards. The Seahawks, meanwhile, have opened the season with two straight wins despite being without Sam Darnold for most of their first two games.
In Other News...
Tom Brady Kept Hijacking A Wild Cowboys Win For All The Wrong Reasons
A FOX broadcast of Dallas game against Washington turned into its own side story thanks to Tom Brady, who found a way to keep pulling focus from the action on the field. The former quarterbacks commentary on Dak Prescott drew plenty of attention when he described one throw as an absolute piss missile, a line that immediately stood out in a game already packed with late noise and momentum swings.
Brady also reacted on air to the injury suffered by Jayden Daniels, sounding visibly surprised as the moment unfolded. With Dallas finishing off the win, the broadcast booth ended up sharing the spotlight with a Cowboys performance that should have been the only headline, even if Brady made sure it was not. [Read more 🡒]
Cowboys Finally Got Their First Win But A Bigger Concern Emerged
The Cowboys finally got into the win column with a 37-20 victory over Washington, and the offense gave plenty of reasons to feel better about the direction of the season. Dak Prescott was sharp throughout, finishing 26 of 31 for 279 yards and four touchdowns, the kind of clean outing Dallas had been waiting for after a rough start to the year.
Even so, the mood was harder to sort through once the game was over. Dallas defense had a shaky afternoon and the bigger concern came with two defensive backs leaving injured, a development that can linger well beyond one good offensive showing. Washington also had its own quarterback issue when Jayden Daniels went down and Marcus Mariota took over, but for the Cowboys the postgame focus quickly shifted from the score to the health of a secondary that suddenly looks thin. [Read more 🡒]
Cowboys Rookie May Have Given Dallas A New Answer On Defense
Jaishawn Barham did not wait long to become part of the Cowboys defensive conversation. In just his second NFL game, the rookie linebacker found himself wearing the headset role and helping organize the unit after DeMarvion Overshown went down with an injury, a responsibility that says a lot about how quickly Dallas trusted him. He also made his presence felt in the kind of way coaches never mind seeing, forcing a fumble that helped set up a touchdown while finishing with seven tackles in the 37-20 win.
Barhams day was not perfectly smooth, either, because he briefly left the game with an injury and even dealt with a moment of illness on the field. Still, the bigger takeaway for Dallas was how he handled the traffic and pressure in the middle of the defense while the game was still in doubt. For a rookie to step into that role this early and leave the field with that kind of impact, it at least gives the Cowboys a reason to wonder whether they may have found another answer on defense. [Read more 🡒]