When the Washington Commanders came out of halftime of Sunday’s game against the Dallas Cowboys, rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels had on a toboggan while Marcus Mariota was practicing taking snaps from center Michael Deiter.
Was head coach Dan Quinn planning to sit Daniels for the remainder of the game and go with the 10-year veteran ahead of next week’s playoff game? Yes, Quinn did indeed go with Mariota to finish the game after Daniels took several hits in the first half. Some were wondering if it was the plan all along for Mariota to play in the second half.
Mariota did play, leading three touchdown drives, including the game-winning touchdown pass to Terry McLaurin. The Commanders escaped Dallas with a 23-19 win, locking up the No. 6 seed for the NFC playoffs.
After the game, Quinn explained that going with Mariota in the second half wasn’t the initial plan.
“It wasn’t a plan going in,” Quinn said after the game. “We thought we were going all the way. But he had some mild soreness in his leg, and I just kind of made the decision honestly to say, ‘Hey, let’s go with Marcus. It felt like it was gonna be a game they were really playing upfield, we’re going to have to use the quarterback’s legs more, and so, it was my decision……but it wasn’t predetermined, I just thought it was the way to go.”
Quinn didn’t say Daniels was injured, but at one point in the first half, it looked like Daniels may have favored his leg. He played through it.
So, is Daniels fine?
“100 percent,” Daniels said when asked if he would’ve played through the leg soreness if it would’ve been a must-win game. “They would’ve had to drag me off the field.”
Everything sounds fine. We’ll know more this week once Washington returns to the practice field on Wednesday. It will be interesting to see if the Commanders list him on the injury report, even if he practices.
Washington plays at Tampa in next week’s wild-card round.