Marcus Mariota has been here before, and that is exactly what made Sunday so hard to stomach. The veteran quarterback stepped in for Jayden Daniels once again after the Commanders star dislocated his elbow against the Cowboys, and his postgame reaction carried none of the routine he has built up over two seasons of filling in.

“It sucks, and you can't even really put it into words,” Mariota told reporters after the game. “You watch that kid battle through all that he went through last year. And just very, very unfortunate, but that is an incredible locker room. He's got an incredible support system. We're gonna do everything we can to get him back and get him right. But man, yeah, it's tough.”

The injury happened in the second half of Washington's 37-20 loss at AT&T Stadium, with Daniels leaving the game favoring his left arm. Dan Quinn confirmed afterward that Daniels dislocated his left elbow again, and an X-ray taken Sunday showed no fracture. He is expected to miss an undetermined amount of time.

The sight was jarring enough that it stopped the broadcast cold. Fox analyst Tom Brady, watching the replay live on air, audibly cursed before catching himself and admitting he had not expected to see that.

Mariota's reference to last year is what gives his words weight. Daniels played just seven games in 2025, a season derailed by a left knee sprain against the Packers in Week 2, a right hamstring injury against Dallas in Week 7, and finally a dislocated left elbow in a Sunday night loss to Seattle that led Washington to shut him down for the final three games.

Mariota started in each of those absences. The 2015 No. 2 overall pick has been steady in relief, completing 48 of 62 passes for 573 yards with five touchdowns and no interceptions across his fill-in stretch last season, including a 41-24 win over the Raiders.

Now he takes over again, this time with the season still young and Daniels' timeline unknown. Washington will wait on Monday's test results before setting any expectations, but the locker room Mariota described will be tested immediately.