Marcus Mariota discusses what's next for Commanders following Jayden Daniels' injury

The Washington Commanders are officially back on the right side of the win column. They defeated the Carolina Panthers 40-7 and had a dominant performance. The only downside to the win, however, was that Jayden Daniels suffered a rib injury on the game's first offensive attack.

Daniels managed a 46-yard run, but he fell hard as two defenders fell on him, which appeared to be the play that led to him entering the injury tent and ultimately heading to the locker room.

However, veteran quarterback Marcus Mariota filled Daniels' spot well. He completed 18 of his 23 passes for two touchdowns with no interceptions. He extended the lead and managed the game very, very well.

The Commanders should be confident that starting Mariota can win a football game if he needs to, but the results of Daniels' injury are something Washington fans are eagerly awaiting.

However, Washington put in a lot of work to get to this point, and the turnaround has led them to five wins – surpassing their win total from a season ago. They have consistently put in a lot of work to prepare the team to play behind Mariota should the need arise.

After the win – as mentioned, the club's fifth win of the season – Mariota was asked what's next for the team, to which he responded in a way that should give the fan base confidence.

“Tomorrow (laughs). And I think that's the beauty of it. (Head) Coach (Dan) Quinn talks all the time about how we're just trying to get better every day and that's all we can control. If we just “Focus on that and we’ll just keep piling on these days.” If we pick ourselves up in January, I think we’ll be happy with where we are,” Mariota said.

Whether things are good for Daniels next Sunday or not, the roster should be solid. They'll develop habits of success by stacking up good days, and the results will show, aside from Daniels taking center stage.

Stay with CommanderGameday and the Locked On Commanders podcast for more FREE coverage of the Washington Commanders during the 2024 season.

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