Hogs Haven
The Athletic (paywall)
Monday’s game will be the first time Mariota has started opposite Patrick Mahomes; his two starts against the Chiefs, in the 2016 regular season and 2018 postseason, were either before Mahomes was drafted or during his rookie season, when Alex Smith was Kansas City’s starter.
Mariota went 1-1 as the starter during Daniels’ two-game absence, guiding the Commanders to a dominant win over the Raiders and a loss on the road to the Falcons.
Washington was without its top three receivers in the loss in Dallas — Terry McLaurin (quad), Noah Brown (groin, injured reserve) and Deebo Samuel (heel) — and lost starting defensive end Dorance Armstrong because of a knee injury in the first quarter.
There’s a chance the team gets one, if not both, of its top active receivers back this week. Quinn said in an interview with SiriusXM NFL Radio on Tuesday that McLaurin and Samuel are expected to practice fully this week as they prepare for the Chiefs.
Washington Post (paywall)
In two frustrating months, the Commanders’ quarterback has gone from a star on the rise to a weekly question mark because of multiple injuries.
When Daniels has been on the field, his precision passing, electric arm, pocket awareness, turnover avoidance and exceptional running ability have still been on display. But he hasn’t stayed healthy, and injuries — to both him and his teammates — have thrown the Commanders’ campaign off track.
As a rookie, Daniels was clearly the jewel of the 2024 quarterback draft class. He was nearly a unanimous offensive rookie of the year (Las Vegas Raiders tight end Brock Bowers snagged one first-place vote), and along the way he led the Commanders to victories against No. 1 pick Caleb Williams’s Chicago Bears and No. 9 pick Michael Penix Jr.’s Atlanta Falcons.
This year, Williams bested Daniels in a prime-time matchup, and Penix helped the Falcons top Washington while Daniels was out in Week 4.
Meanwhile, the quarterback from that class getting MVP buzz is the one drafted immediately after Daniels: Drake Maye of the New England Patriots.
Daniels was in that MVP discussion before the season began. Now the talk around him is centered on durability.
Commanders.com
Quinn was visibly displeased with the team’s performance following the Commanders’ 44-22 loss to the Dallas Cowboys last week. The defense, a sore spot for the team all season, had another poor outing against the Cowboys’ No. 1-ranked offense, which put up 409 yards thanks in part to myriad of explosive plays allowed through the air and on the ground. Quinn said the team was “off course” and promised to take a long, hard look at the cause of the dysfunction.
Quinn didn’t go into specifics, but...
