With Marcus Mariota officially named the Washington Commanders’ starting quarterback for Week 3, the dynamic shifts, but the offense won’t change much. After Jayden Daniels went down Sunday, Mariota stepped in and finished an uneventful 11-of-16 for 111 yards and one touchdown, no interceptions, and a passer rating of 109.1. That tells me what my eyes already saw while rewatching the game: Washington didn’t ask Mariota to be anything more than himself.
The big thing here is that Mariota just needs to go out and be the type of player he is capable of being. He knows he’s not Jayden, and so does the staff, so there’s no reason to run the offense exactly the same way or try to recreate Daniels’ scrambling ability, though it would be a mistake to paint Mariota as not mobile. Quinn told members of the media he wants Mariota to “be him,” make the available throws, protect the football, and make his own plays when they’re there.
Mariota’s first pass after taking over went for 26 yards to Terry McLaurin, and two plays later he nearly hit Dyami Brown for what would have been a 29-yard touchdown. It was ruled incomplete and upheld after review, but the point is Washington didn’t suddenly put the training wheels on the offense just because Daniels was gone. Mariota came in and ran it.
Marcus Mariota ➡️ Stefon Diggs to add six more on the board for the Commanders!
WASvsDAL on FOX/FOX One
Stream on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/GTDA09lrTx— NFL (@NFL) September 20, 2026
Later, he put together a 10-play, 73-yard touchdown drive that ended with a 20-yard score to Stefon Diggs. He hit Antonio Williams, Rachaad White, Brown, and Diggs on the drive, spreading the ball around instead of trying to manufacture everything himself. That’s probably what Mariota’s version of this offense needs to look like. Mariota doesn’t have to make every big play. He just needs to keep the offense moving and get the ball to the people Washington is paying to make them.
None of this means Mariota was spectacular Sunday. He wasn’t. Washington settled for a field goal on his first possession, another drive ended with a missed 51-yard field goal, and 111 passing yards isn’t exactly something that’s going to scare anybody. That’s also kind of the point.
Washington ran for 182 yards against Dallas, White finished with 83 yards from scrimmage, Diggs caught both touchdowns, and McLaurin had the team’s two longest receptions. Antonio Williams caught all three of his targets. There is enough around Mariota offensively that Blough shouldn’t have to redesign the offense around things Mariota doesn’t do as well as Daniels.
What the Commanders can’t afford are the mistakes that make his job harder. Brown’s third-quarter fumble handed Dallas the ball deep in Washington territory and turned into a touchdown 36 seconds later. Those are the kinds of plays that force Mariota into situations where he’s suddenly being asked to dig the team out of a hole.
Mariota isn’t Daniels, and nobody needs to pretend he is. What Sunday showed is that Washington doesn’t need to force Mariota into Daniels’ version of the offense. Let him distribute the ball, use his own mobility when it’s there, and play the way he’s capable of playing. Quinn told him to “be him.” That’s probably the best plan Washington has right now.
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