The Washington Commanders had one of the worst Sunday's imaginable in Week 9. Washington got crushed 38-14 by Seattle after Sam Darnold had a monster performance in front of a national audience. To make matters worse, Commanders QB Jayden Daniels suffered a horrific elbow injury that should sideline him for several weeks.
Commanders head coach Dan Quinn was at a loss for words when talking about the situation after the game.
“I'm gutted by it,” Quinn said, per ESPN's John Keim. Quinn did not offer an update on the severity of Daniels' injury at the time.
Right guard Sam Cosmi explained how Daniels' injury impacted everyone in the stadium.
“Gut-wrenching,” Cosmi said. “You could just hear the air [come] out of everybody in the stadium. Not a good feeling to see that for sure. It really sucks. I put my head down and prayed for him. You don't want to see that. … That's our guy. It sucks.”
Other Commanders players, including Zach Ertz and Frankie Luvu, praised Daniels after his injury and said they hope he can return soon.
Perhaps the most devastating part was that Washington made an incredibly routine play call. But it still resulted in a scary injury.
“You don't want to think that way where an injury could take place,” Quinn said. “It wasn't a designed read or play to that spot. If we run it 50 times, it's either a handoff or throw 50 times. So, yeah, it's a bummer, man.”
The Commanders also received some brutal injury news about Luke McCaffrey and Marshon Lattimore, both of whom could miss the rest of the season pending test results.
Jayden Daniel gruesome injury “not as bad as it could've been”
But there is a silver lining for Commanders fans.
The early word out of Washington is that Daniels' injury was not as bad as it could have been.
“Commanders QB Jayden Daniels, who left Sunday’s loss with his left arm immobilized, suffered a dislocated elbow and will have an MRI to determine how long he’s out, sources say. The belief is it’s not as bad as it could’ve been. But Daniels will miss several games,” NFL Network's Ian Rapoport wrote on Monday.
Rapoport added that X-Rays on Daniels' left arm were negative.
It remains to be seen how long Daniels will be out of the lineup. But at 3-6, the more pressing question is whether the Commanders can stay alive in the NFC playoff race while Daniels gets healthy.
Next up for the Commanders is a Week 10 matchup against the Lions.
