Marcus Mariota Details What's Next For Commanders After Jayden Daniels Injury

The Washington Commanders could have some uncertainty under center with Jayden Daniels' injury, but the team should be fine.

Oct 6, 2024; Landover, Maryland, USA; Washington Commanders quarterback Marcus Mariota (18) smiles while jogging onto the field against the Cleveland Browns during the fourth quarter at NorthWest Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images / Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

The Washington Commanders are officially back on the right side of the win column. They defeated the Carolina Panthers 40-7 in what was a dominant performance. The one downside from the victory, though, was Jayden Daniels suffering a rib injury on the first offensive drive of the game.

Daniels ripped off a 46-yard run, but he took a hard fall with two defenders falling on him afterward, which seemingly was the play that ended up having him enter the injury tent and eventually go to the locker room.

Veteran quarterback Marcus Mariota stepped into Daniels' place well, though. He completed 18 of his 23 passes for two touchdowns with no interceptions. He nurtured the lead and managed the game very, very well.

The Commanders should have confidence that Mariota can go win a football game as a starter, should he have to, but the results of Daniels' injury are something Washington fans are eagerly awaiting.

Washington has put in plenty of work to get to this point, though, and their turnaround that has led them to five wins -- surpassing their win total from a season ago. They put in a consistent amount of work that will have the team prepared to play behind Mariota, should they have to.

After the win -- the club's fifth of the season, as mentioned -- Mariota was asked what's next for the squad, to which he answered in a way that should provide confidence to the fan base.

"Tomorrow [laugh]. And I think that's the beauty of it. [Head] Coach [Dan] Quinn talks about all the time, we're just trying to get better every single day and that's all we can control. If we just focus on that and we just keep stacking these days, when we pick our heads up in January, I think we'll like where we're at," Mariota said.

Whether Daniels is good to get next Sunday or not, the squad should be solid. They're going to build winning habits by stacking good days, and the results will show beyond having the flash of Daniels under center.

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