Commanders Called Out for ‘Pedestrian’ QB Play in Loss to Falcons
It’s never been in the cards for the Washington Commanders to win, long term, with superstar quarterback Jayden Daniels on the sideline.
The key, with Daniels out, is to just keep their heads above water. It’s something that’s not totally clear the Commanders can do moving forward after Daniels sat for a second consecutive game in Week 4 against the Atlanta Falcons.
In a 34-27 road loss, backup quarterback Marcus Mariota looked more like the player he’d been in stints with the Tennessee Titans and Falcons as a full time starter. Which wasn’t very good.
“The Commanders lack explosion minus quarterback Jayden Daniels and injured receivers Terry McLaurin and Noah Brown,” ESPN’s John Keim wrote on September 28. “The result was backup quarterback Marcus Mariota’s most pedestrian outing since signing with Washington ahead of last season. He threw for 156 yards and had one ill-advised deep ball picked off, but did manage a total of two touchdowns. Had Washington’s defense helped Sunday, that might have been good enough. There is hope that Daniels will return for Week 5, but it remains to be seen if McLaurin and Brown will do the same.”
Marcus Mariota’s first interception in 83 pass attempts as a Commander is a costly one.
Not sure if he thought the flag was on the defense? Treated this like a free play. Lane actually gets free behind his guy but Mariota way overthrows him into the deep safety help. pic.twitter.com/KK9P1YplGX
— Grant Paulsen (@granthpaulsen) September 28, 2025
The Commanders go back on the road in Week 5 against the Los Angeles Rams.
Daniels Out Since Sprained Knee in Week 2
Daniels has been out since MRI tests revealed he suffered a sprained PCL in a 27-18 Week 2 loss to the Green Bay Packers.
Mariota is in his second season as Daniels’ backup and signed a 1-year, $8 million contract on March 12 after playing on a 1-year, $6 million contract in 2024. He won his first start this season — against another of his old teams — with a 41-21 victory over the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 3.
Mariota filled in for Daniels in 2024 after he injured his ribs in the first quarter of a 40-7 Week 7 win over the Carolina Panthers. Mariota looked sharp that day, going 18-of-23 passing for 205 yards, 2 touchdowns and no interceptions to go with 11 carries for 34 yards. He also saw extended action in the regular season finale, going 15-of-19 passing for 161 yards, 2 touchdowns and no interceptions to go with 5 carries for 56 yards and 1 touchdown in a 23-19 win over the Dallas Cowboys.
Daniels Made NFL History as Rookie
The Commanders bet their future on Daniels when they selected the 2023 Heisman Trophy winner with the No. 2 overall pick in the 2024 NFL draft.
Daniels was more than up to the task.
After Daniels beat out Mariota for the starting job early in training camp, Daniels reeled off one of the greatest rookie seasons in NFL history as he led the Commanders to a 12-5 regular season record and into the NFC Championship Game for the first time since 1991. He also set the NFL rookie rushing record with 891 yards and 6 touchdowns.
Daniels was named NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year and a Pro Bowler and set the Commanders up as legitimate Super Bowl contenders in 2025 — something they haven’t looked like on either side of the ball through 4 games.
“Jayden Daniels wouldn’t have changed much (against Falcons,” Commanders fan account Commanders Gang wrote on X on September 28. “The defense is the reason we’ll be lucky to win 10 games this season.”
Cowboys Owner Jerry Jones Had ‘Problem’ With Micah Parsons Ahead of SNF Clash
Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones is still adjusting to the sight of Micah Parsons in a Green Bay Packers uniform.
Jones was live on NBC on Sunday when Parsons jogged onto the field at AT&T Stadium for warmups, making his first return to Dallas since being traded — and his first appearance as a visitor at the stadium he once called home.
“I’ve seen that trot and him running out like that for four straight years. The green and gold is a little problem for me, looking at it,” Jones said. “But I’ll have to think of the kind of considerations we got on the trade. It might not be this Christmas that the bicycle goes under the tree. But thinking ahead, you might have a motorcycle under there.”
Jones’ message seems to be that by avoiding a massive contract for Parsons, the Cowboys are keeping financial flexibility to add multiple impact players in the future. After the trade, Parsons inked a four-year, $188 million extension with Green Bay, making him the highest-paid non-quarterback in NFL history.
Dallas has already invested heavily in other key pieces since trading Parsons, extending guard Tyler Smith — now the NFL’s highest-paid interior offensive lineman — and signing cornerback DaRon Bland to a four-year deal worth up to $92 million. Tight end Jake Ferguson signed a four-year extension worth up to $52 million.
Jerry Jones: Cowboys Didn’t Win Super Bowl With Micah Parsons
Prior to watching Parsons jog onto the field, Jones gave some insight into why he decided to trade Parsons in August for defensive tackle Kenny Clark and two first-round draft picks.
“I think a lot of Micah. I admire him. He’s a great player and has a great family with him. But he got caught up in the numbers with me,” Jones said. “I wanted the number of players that a player like Micah Parsons could get for us in the future. I thought we could play some good football even though we didn’t have him in the short term. I like the numbers and I’m fully aware, because we had him for four years, that didn’t get us to the Super Bowl. We had to do something different.”
The Cowboys don’t appear any closer to a Super Bowl with Parsons no longer in the picture. Dallas is 1-2, and their defense is giving up 397.7 yards per game, next to last in the NFL. As a team, the Cowboys have just three sacks this season.
Cowboys Not Planning Tribute for Micah Parsons
The Cowboys are not planning any kind of tribute for Parsons’ first return to Dallas. Jones said a tribute wouldn’t be “appropriate” for the occasion. The team had done so previously for players like Emmitt Smith and Ezekiel Elliott.
Parsons did not have a problem with not being celebrated by his former team.
“No, there’s a lot of things I can consider disrespectful throughout this process, but I wouldn’t say the tribute is one of them,” Parsons said Wednesday. “I would say, I just think there’s hard feelings maybe there for them. But for me, I’m happy where I’m at and we got a really good football team, so I guess I can [receive] my tribute in a win, I hope.”
Parsons’ Packers are a 6.5-point favorite for Sunday’s matchup against the Cowboys.
