Marcus Mariota stepped into the spotlight Sunday and gave Washington exactly what it needed.
With Jayden Daniels sidelined by a dislocated left elbow suffered in Dallas last week, Mariota made his first start of the season and guided the Commanders to a 33-31 victory over the defending Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks at Northwest Stadium.
He finished 19 of 31 for 183 yards and three touchdowns, doing enough to keep Washington moving while the game stayed tight late. The Commanders improved to 1-2, while Seattle fell to 2-1.
“We have an unbelievable group of guys,” Mariota said. “I think that’s kind of been the message over the last three years that I’ve been here.
The more that adversity hits, the more that the circumstances kind of pin us against the wall; these guys find a way. I’m grateful to be a part of it.”
Mariota opened the scoring with a six-yard touchdown pass to Rachaad White in the first quarter, putting Washington ahead 7-0. Seattle answered to tie it, but Mariota came right back in the second quarter with an 11-yard touchdown to Treylon Burks for a 14-7 lead.
Then in the third quarter, he connected with Terry McLaurin from 30 yards out to stretch the Commanders’ advantage to 24-10.
Seattle made things interesting even with starting quarterback Sam Darnold back from a glute injury. Darnold threw for 379 yards, four touchdowns and two interceptions, but it wasn’t enough to erase Washington’s edge.
“One and two is not where we want to be, but that was a huge win for us moving forward,” Mariota said.
Mariota also filled in for Daniels in the second half of last week’s 37-20 loss at Dallas, going 11 of 16 for 111 yards and a touchdown. The 32-year-old joined Washington in 2024 to back up Daniels, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2024 draft.
Daniels has dealt with multiple injuries since then, including the dislocated elbow that pushed Mariota into the lineup. In 2025, Mariota has made eight starts and completed 61.2 percent of his passes for 1,695 yards, 10 touchdowns and seven interceptions.
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Oregons USC Win Now Turns On What Happened After Dante Moore Went Down
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Afterward, Dan Lanning confirmed Moores concussion and made clear the program would be careful with the recovery process, which is the part of the story that now matters most for Oregon going forward. USC linebacker Desman Stephens II was suspended for the hit that caused the injury, but for the Ducks the bigger question is still the one hanging over the aftermath: how quickly, and how safely, they can get their starting quarterback back. [Read more 🡒]