ARLINGTON, Texas — Early in the third quarter Sunday, the Washington Commanders ruled out quarterback Jayden Daniels with a left elbow injury, Adam Schefter of ESPN reported. Marcus Mariota finishes the game at quarterback.
Daniels was hurt on the last snap before halftime, with three seconds left and Washington facing third-and-1 inside field goal range. He put his left arm down to brace himself and the elbow bent the wrong way. Ian Rapoport of NFL Network posted video of the play a few minutes after it happened. Daniels was carted to the locker room with his left arm in a brace, Calvin Watkins of ESPN reported.
Washington trailed 17-10 at the time and ran a play rather than sending out the kicking unit. Daniels was working to escape pressure when he went down. He stayed on the ground while trainers reached him.
His last throw was a 4-yard touchdown to Stefon Diggs with 6:38 left in the second quarter. The extra point pulled Washington within 17-10 after Dallas had led 17-3.
Jayden Daniels’ Left Elbow Injury History
The elbow Daniels dislocated last season in Week 9 during a loss to the Seattle Seahawks is the same one. He was out for three games and came back at Minnesota on Dec. 7, but then re-injured it during an interception return in the third quarter of a 31-0 defeat.
Commanders coach Dan Quinn shut him down on Dec. 15, and Daniels sat out Washington’s final four games. He played seven games in 2025 and was pulled from four of them. The knee injury occurred initially, with a sprain in Week 2 against Green Bay, followed by a strained right hamstring in Week 7 at Dallas, before the elbow issue.
Sunday was Daniels’ second game back. He totaled 195 yards and threw two touchdown passes in a 24-22 loss at Philadelphia in Week 1, his first regular-season action in more than nine months, and did not clear 100 passing yards until the fourth quarter.
Marcus Mariota Takes Over Against The Dallas Cowboys
Mariota was the second overall pick in the 2015 draft and has since played for Tennessee, Las Vegas, Atlanta, Philadelphia and Washington. He went 139-of-227 for 1,695 yards with 10 touchdown passes and 7 interceptions in 2025, nearly all of it in relief of Daniels or starting in his place.
Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott threw two touchdown passes in the first half. Dallas ran 27 plays for 171 yards and did not turn the ball over. Washington out-gained the Cowboys 225 to 171 before the break and held the ball for 17:02. The Commanders ran 21 times for 129 yards and picked up nine of their first downs on the ground.
Dallas started Sunday at 0-1 after a 28-20 loss to the New York Giants on Sept. 13. The Cowboys will face Baltimore next Sunday at Maracanã Stadium in Rio de Janeiro, marking the NFL’s first regular-season game in the city. Dallas is the designated home team and agreed to play at Maracanã instead of AT&T Stadium, its first international game since beating Jacksonville at Wembley Stadium in 2014. The game kicks off at 3:25 p.m. CT on CBS.
