The Washington Commanders faced NFC East rival the Dallas Cowboys on the road at AT&T Stadium on Sunday, Sept. 22. Both teams entered the week two contest searching for their first win after opening the season with losses.
Dallas ultimately came out on top, defeating Washington 37-20. But the Commanders’ defeat was overshadowed by a significant injury to quarterback Jayden Daniels, who suffered a dislocation in his left elbow before halftime and did not return for the rest of the game.
“It sucks. You can’t really put it into words. You watched that kid battle through all he’d been through last year. And it’s just very, very unfortunate. But that is an incredible locker room and [Daniels] has an incredible support system,” said Commanders quarterback Marcus Mariota, pointing to the team locker room door. “We’re gonna do everything we can to get him back and get him right.”
Daniels was injured on the final play of the first half with three seconds left on the clock and Washington positioned at the Dallas one-yard line. After taking the snap, Daniels appeared to lose his balance when left guard Chris Paul stepped on his foot.
As he attempted to brace himself using his left arm, his elbow bent awkwardly as he hit the ground. Despite the injury, Daniels tried to finish the play, attempting to throw the ball as Cowboys defensive tackle Jonathan Bullard brought him down.
“Looking back on it, at the 1-yard line, we need touchdowns,” said Washington head coach Dan Quinn, “and so I don’t regret the call. Obviously, anytime someone gets injured, you play the ‘what if’ game. I don’t think this is one of those times for me. I hate that it happened…obviously the outcome sucks, but it wasn’t a ‘what if’ or wish I had done something differently.”
When the play was over, Daniels immediately grabbed his left arm and stayed on the field while Washington’s medical staff attended to him. He was eventually carted off the field with his arm in a cast and a towel covering his head. The Commanders later announced that he would not return to the game.
After the loss, Quinn said X-rays did not reveal a fracture, though additional testing was scheduled for Monday to determine the severity of the injury. The situation carries added significance, as Daniels dealt with the same injury last season when the Commanders finished 5-12 and second-to-last in the NFC East division.
Daniels missed 10 games last season after dislocating his left elbow during Washington’s week-nine loss to the Seattle Seahawks. He returned five weeks later but sustained another injury to the same elbow, against the Minnesota Vikings in week 14. That setback brought his 2025 campaign to an end and resulted in him being placed on the injured/reserve list.
“I think you want to stand in that space, man, with your posture, your attitude of how you’re gonna go and acknowledge it sucks,” said Quinn. “And that was the first thing I did. It was hard. It was quiet…but at the end, I wanted to bring everyone up tight and say ‘it sucks, but this is what we’re gonna do, and this is how we’re gonna go play.’”
During the offseason, Washington revamped its offensive approach with the intention of creating a more flexible system that limited the number of hits Daniels absorbed in games. However, in the opening two weeks of the season, the offense has struggled to establish consistent production.
Before exiting Sunday’s matchup, Daniels provided a much-needed boost as Washington’s defense struggled to settle in. During a 15-play possession that lasted more than five minutes, the quarterback rushed for 24 yards on three scrambles, helping move the Commanders down to the Dallas 1-yard line.
Washington had a chance to even the score at 17-17 before the break, but two unsuccessful red-zone passes prevented the team from reaching the end zone. Those incompletions led to the final snap of the half, which resulted in Daniels’ injury.
Mariota stepped in after halftime and attempted to keep Washington’s offensive fight going.
“In that moment it’s like my first instinct is to think about the guy,” Mariota said. “You worry, you think about his [mental health], you think about what he’s gone through. You go through all those emotions, and I wasn’t afraid to go through that. And I think at the end of the day, to be able to go through that, it kinda snapped me into what I had to do, and that was just trying to perform for these guys.”
Mariota completed 11-of-16 passes for 111 yards and connected with wide receiver Stefon Diggs for a touchdown. The score cut Dallas’ advantage to 30-20 with fewer than five minutes remaining.
The touchdown was Diggs’ second of the afternoon and his third through Washington’s first two games. His first touchdown of the game marked the 76th of his career and the Commanders’ first touchdown reception in back-to-back games since weeks nine and 10 of the 2025 season. The Commanders were unable to mount a late rally, though, as Dallas held on for its first victory of the season.
Washington will return to Northwest Stadium in week three to face the defending Super Bowl champion, the Seattle Seahawks. The matchup will be the Commanders’ first home game of the season and with kickoff scheduled for 1 p.m.
“That ‘no flinch’ mentality is what’s going to drive us forward,” Mariota said. “[The players] believe in each other, [the players] believe in what we’re doing, believe in [head coach Dan Quinn], and we’ll get this ship going in the right direction. Today we gotta be vulnerable and feel these emotions out and clean up some things tomorrow, and get ready for Seattle.”
