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Jayden Daniels dislocated elbow in Commanders’ loss
Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels suffered a dislocated left elbow during the fourth quarter of Sunday night’s 38-14 loss to the Seattle Seahawks, sources told ESPN.
He is scheduled to undergo an MRI on Monday to confirm the diagnosis and help determine a recovery timeline. Daniels is expected to be sidelined indefinitely, but it is uncertain whether his season is over, according to sources.
Daniels was hurt with 7 minutes, 39 seconds remaining -- and Washington trailing 38-7 -- when he scrambled to his right and was sacked at the Seattle 4-yard line by Seahawks linebacker Drake Thomas. Daniels’ left elbow was bent back on the tackle, and he was visibly in pain.
The remaining fans at Northwest Stadium gasped when they saw Daniels go down in pain, followed mostly by silence as they watched him be tended to by the medical staff.
Multiple teammates took a knee, some near Daniels. Eventually, most of his teammates surrounded him as a cart was sent. But Daniels instead walked to the locker room with a black air cast on his left, non-throwing elbow.
According to ESPN Research, Daniels was pressured on a career-high 51% of his dropbacks Sunday night, including 61% in the second half. He was hit 14 times, according to TruMedia, the second most he had been hit this season. In Week 2, Daniels was hit 17 times against Green Bay, with one of those hits to his knee resulting in a sprain and two-week absence.
Despite the pressure and Washington trailing by 31 points Sunday night, Quinn said he did not consider taking Daniels out of the game.
Pro Football Talk
Quinn was asked if the team had given thought to not playing Daniels in that situation with a blowout midway through the fourth quarter. Quinn pointed to hindsight, but also noted that the play call where Daniels was hurt was not designed for him to extend the play.
While Daniels was able to start all 17 games as a rookie, this is already his third injury suffered this season that will cause him to miss time. Quinn was asked if the Commanders, as an organization, have to do anything different when it comes to keeping him available to play.
“I think the answer to that is we will give him the support to do that,” Quinn said. “I am certain of that — to make sure we do that in every single way. That’s calls, offense, defense — the whole way through, man. I absolutely feel that way. The hamstring injury and tonight with an elbow — yeah, it’s really important we get that part right. And we will.”
The Athletic (paywall)
Jayden Daniels’ gruesome elbow injury wasn’t bad luck — it was a preventable mistake
It was, simply, malpractice, for Jayden Daniels to be playing in the fourth quarter Sunday night.
I do not use that word to go viral, or as a hot take. I don’t do hot takes. That word is used here because it describes, correctly, the decision to allow Daniels to stay on the field, in a game long since lost, in a season spiraling toward oblivion, and to continue running for his life, as he had all night in what became a 38-14 Seahawks win at Northwest Stadium.
With seven and a half minutes left in the game, and Washington down 38-7, Daniels, for some reason, was allowed to go back on the field. He drove the Commanders down the field, toward a meaningless score that would do nothing to change how thoroughly and completely Seattle had dominated the Commanders all night long, in all three phases.
And then, Jayden Daniels, because it’s how he’s wired, took off running again, from the Seattle 2-yard line, trying to score. And Seahawks linebacker Drake Thomas, because it’s what he does for a living, grabbed Daniels and threw him to the ground. And Daniels, straining for that extra yard, fell awkwardly, on his left elbow. It was … it was awful. Don’t look at a replay of it. Ever.
But Daniels should not have been on the field.
He should have been on the sidelines, with a clipboard in his hand and a headset on his head, watching Marcus Mariota finish up a bad night at the office for the home team, like teams that are getting mauled do all the time. That he wasn’t falls at the feet of the head coach. Dan Quinn is a good man and a good coach, but he made the wrong decision in allowing Daniels to continue.
“I mean, obviously, like, the hindsight, you don’t want to think that way, where an injury could take place,” Quinn said afterward. “You know, obviously, we’re more conservative in that spot, to run it and hand off and not have reads to go. But just the end result, obviously, I’m bummed.”
But, Quinn and Adam Peters and Josh Harris all know how Jayden Daniels is wired. If he puts on a uniform, he’s going to try and ball out. It’s how he won the Heisman, and how he played during an electric rookie season. It’s why Washington took him second overall in the 2024 draft. But the entire organization, now, has to have a serious, sober discussion about how to help Daniels get through the rest of his career.
Washington Post (paywall)
Jayden Daniels dislocates elbow as Commanders unravel in prime time
By that point in the fourth quarter, an injury to Daniels was about the only thing that hadn’t yet gone wrong for the Commanders. In a prime-time game on national television in front of a sellout home crowd, they were demolished by Seattle in all-encompassing fashion. Washington trailed 31-7 at halftime. It was a performance so poor that it overshadowed all the pregame hoopla about the team’s “Super Bowl era” throwback uniforms and the halftime jersey retirement of franchise legend Art Monk.
It wasn’t one stretch or a few critical moments or even one phase of play in which Seattle bullied the Commanders. It was everywhere. And it started almost from the opening kickoff.
In a season filled with plenty of sloppy stretches, Sunday night’s first half was without a doubt Washington’s worst. The Commanders’ defense gave up 330 yards of offense at a clip of 12.2 yards per play. Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold did not have a single incompletion. His stat line for the first half said as much about the flaws of Washington’s defense as it did about his own skill: 16 for 16 for 282 yards and four touchdowns.
The first half featured all the troubling hallmarks of Washington’s 2025 season: Ill-timed penalties that killed offensive drives. An ever-present pass rush that forced Daniels into no-win situations — such as the one on a third and 17 in the first quarter in which he hoisted the ball toward the sideline, where it was superbly intercepted by Seahawks safety Ty Okada. And a combination of defensive coverage issues that led to a seemingly inevitable string of touchdown passes by Darnold.
Commanders.com
Instant analysis | Commanders drop 4th straight
The Seahawks, now 4-0 on the road, had success in nearly every metric against the Commanders, who dropped their fourth consecutive loss to move to 3-6. They doubled the Commanders in total yardage in the first half, 330-140, and were perfect on their first five third-down attempts. They averaged 12.2 yards per play in the first half, compared to the 5.5 from Washington’s unit, and turned two Washington turnovers into touchdowns.
Darnold finished the night 21-of-24 for 330 yards with four touchdowns, one interception and a 141 passer rating.
But in several ways, the Commanders’ mistakes were just as much to blame as a historically productive night from the Seattle offense. The two turnovers -- an interception from Jayden Daniels and a fumble from Jaylin Lane on a kickoff return -- were the most glaring gaffes, but an amalgamation of penalties, missed tackles and communication issues also stifled any attempts from the Commanders to climb back into the game.
It started on the Commanders’ opening drive of the game. An illegal blindside block moved the unit back 15 yards, eliminating most of the progress the Commanders made on the previous four plays. The Commanders were forced to punt after an eight-yard completion to Zach Ertz on third-and-21.
NFL Week 9: Biggest questions, takeaways for every game
Commanders
What happens now without Jayden Daniels? The Commanders were reeling even with Daniels at quarterback. Now that he injured his left elbow -- his third injury this season -- and will miss time, it can only get worse. There will be questions about his recovery. Receiver Terry McLaurin will likely miss another game -- or two -- because of a thigh injury. They’ll struggle to move the ball, and their defense remains undisciplined and does nothing well, allowing 103 points over the past three games. A season that began with heightened expectations is on pace for a top-10 draft slot -- and many questions about the Commanders’ future.
Biggest hole in the game plan: Washington’s man coverage struggled mightily vs. the Seattle receivers. Other than Jaxon Smith-Njigba, there was no proven Seahawks wideout. It didn’t matter. Their lack of discipline hurt on two touchdown passes; other times, they were just beaten. Seattle threw for 282 yards in the first half -- 217 against man coverage -- averaging 17.6 yards per pass attempt en route to a 31-7 lead. -- John Keim
Next game: vs. Lions (Sunday, 4:25 p.m. ET)
NFL midseason crystal ball: 10 people who will shape the 2025 season’s second half
There’s not much to say about the effort the Commanders gave in their Sunday night loss to Seattle. They fell behind by a score of 28-0 in the first half and that deficit had everything to do with Washington’s ineptitude. That defense allowed Seattle quarterback Sam Darnold to hit big play after big play, often with receivers running wide open in that 38-14 loss. Star quarterback Jayden Daniels, who sustained a serious left arm injury in the game, kept that defense from being exposed in 2024. It’s clearly a lot to ask for him and the offense to do that two years in a row.
NFC East links
Big Blue View
Giants-49ers ‘things I think’: The Brian Daboll death march has begun
The Giants have reached an all-too-familiar milestone: A 2-7 record after nine games, just like 2023 and 2024.
2-7 after nine games in 2023.
2-7 after nine games in 2024.
2-7 after nine games in 2025.
A season that just a few weeks ago provided so much hope that the Giants, finally with a young, talented, exciting quarterback to build around, has devolved into an all-too-familiar disaster for New York.
All the signs of being a losing, lost team that we have come to know too well in recent years were there on Sunday at MetLife Stadium in a not-as-competitive as the 34-24 loss to the San Francisco 49ers might make you believe.
We have reached the point where it is legitimate to begin to wonder if the final eight games of the season are little more than a Brian Daboll death march.
It is clear that John Mara, especially a diminished Mara who is fighting a battle with cancer, doesn’t want to have to fire Daboll and search for another head coach. He would love it if the Daboll-Dart duo would lead the Giants out of the darkness they have spent most of the last 15 years in.
It seems increasingly apparent, though, that Daboll and his staff don’t have the answers.
Blogging the Boys
Cowboys need rare positive “déjà vu” against Cardinals on MNF
The 2025 Dallas Cowboys are in a tough spot at the moment. Their season already feels like a movie the fanbase has seen countless times, and decided it isn’t worth the stay. Even the worst movies can at least have scenes worth watching though, and if each week of the NFL season is a scene, the Cowboys will at least be hoping their Monday Night Football debut under Brian Schottenheimer can be a familiar and worthwhile scene on offense.
The Cowboys are off a deflating road loss in Denver, their eighth straight to the Broncos. That loss has them still searching for their next opportunity to reach a winning record, which even with a win against a Cardinals team that has lost five in a row will have to wait until at least week 11. The Cowboys are getting the Cardinals off of their bye, and then going into the bye themselves aiming for a 4-4-1 record at that point. Doing so against the Cardinals will not come easy, as the Cowboys have lost seven of their last eight to Arizona between 2008 and 2023.
Monday Night Football
Front Office Sports
ESPN, ABC Still Dark on YouTube TV As Cowboys ‘MNF’ Game Looms
‘Monday Night Football’ is set to test the ongoing Disney–YouTube TV carriage dispute, which led to the entirety of ABC and ESPN’s weekend college football slate being blacked out.
Monday Night Football—which includes one of the NFL’s biggest draws this week—is looming over the ongoing Disney–YouTube TV carriage dispute, which led to the entirety of ABC and ESPN’s weekend college football slate being blacked out for the No. 4 U.S. pay-TV distributor’s estimated 10 million subscribers.
More than 20 Disney channels, including all ESPN networks, have been unavailable on YouTube TV since midnight on Friday, after the two sides failed to reach a new deal.
Next up, ABC and ESPN are set to simulcast Monday night’s Cardinals-Cowboys matchup, which will close out the league’s Week 9 action as America’s Team (3-4-1) looks to improve its record to .500 this season.
Dallas, which hasn’t been back to the Super Bowl since winning it after the 1995 season—a stretch that has included just five postseason victories—continues to be a ratings draw and has played in two of the five most-watched games this NFL season.
Earlier this fall, the Google-owned YouTube TV was able to reach key carriage agreements with Fox and NBCUniversal before missing any major sporting events. However, the latest negotiations with Disney have turned out to be more contentious. This has turned out to be the most impactful carriage dispute since Disney’s feud last year with DirecTV led to the 2024 MNF season opener being unavailable for the satellite TV provider’s customers.
Upcoming opponent
Pride of Detroit
5 takeaways from Lions’ disappointing loss to Vikings
The Detroit Lions fell apart against the Minnesota Vikings. Here are 5 takeaways from the disappointing loss.
The Lions and Vikings traded blows to open the game, but once the Vikings took the lead 14-7, it felt like they had control the rest of the time. The Vikings’ defense dominated the Lions’ high-powered offense and gave the Lions defense issues, with McCarthy having a solid performance in his return. Detroit couldn’t overcome the Vikings’ blitz-heavy defense, and they fell apart at home.
Move over turd quarter, it’s now turd down
Ever since Lions head coach Dan Campbell took over the team, they usually struggle in the third quarter, but this year, that isn’t the biggest problem. It’s been moved from just a quarter of play to a certain down, third down. Campbell and the coaching staff addressed their struggles on third down this season and vowed to make changes to improve it coming out of the bye week.
There was no improvement seen today by the Lions on both sides of the ball when it came to third down.
Lions - 5-for-17
Vikings - 4-for-12
Having extra time to make corrections to fix these woes only to come out flat isn’t a good look. You can’t preach that you know it’s an issue and worked hard to address, only for it to be a huge reason the team loses the game. The Lions had three-and-outs on three straight drives for the first time since Week 14 in 2023 against the Chicago Bears.
It didn’t help that the Lions’ offense was backed up for the majority of the game due to penalties or sacks allowed, but when it was within friendly distance, it didn’t make matters better.
NFL league links
Seahawks’ Sam Darnold boosts MVP stock, throwing 4 first-half TDs in blowout win
At halftime of the Seattle Seahawks’ blowout win over the Washington Commanders on Sunday night at Northwest Stadium, Sam Darnold had four touchdown passes and zero incompletions, having connected on all 16 of his attempts.
He didn’t know it until someone told him -- a no-no in football akin to talking about a no-hitter in baseball.
“Obviously, I can feel the flow of the game and understand that we’re doing really good on offense, but no I didn’t know that I hadn’t thrown an incompletion,” Darnold said after the 38-14 victory. “It was pretty cool. Someone at halftime said to me that I hadn’t thrown an incompletion, so I think he’s to blame for throwing an incompletion in the second half.”
By the time Darnold missed for the first time, the Seahawks were well on their way to a win that improved their record to 6-2 -- and boosted their quarterback’s MVP odds in the process.
Jaguars kicker Cam Little sets NFL record with 68-yard field goal in win over Raiders
Jacksonville Jaguars kicker Cam Little set a new NFL record after successfully booting a 68-yard field goal at the end of the first half of Sunday’s overtime win over the Raiders.
Little’s kick, now the longest FG made in NFL history, beat out Justin Tucker’s 66-yarder set in 2021.
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