The Washington Commanders find themselves in a familiar NFL predicament: their franchise quarterback is hurt & the backup has to keep the ship afloat.

Jayden Daniels suffered an injury against Dallas, and Marcus Mariota is the man stepping in under center for Washington. Coach Dan Quinn addressed the media ahead of Wednesday’s practice and offered some fortifying comments about his veteran quarterback.

The question now is simple: What can the Commanders realistically expect from Mariota, and does the upcoming schedule give them a fighting chance?

Quinn’s confidence in Mariota is genuine

Mariota has provided solid play as the Commanders’ backup in the past, so it’s easy to see why Quinn and Co. have a certain level of faith in him.

“The nice part with Marcus, man, (is) he (has) a real command of things we need,” said Quinn. “With Marcus, he’s one that’s really in control. Him running the system gives everyone a calmness about them, like, ‘Eight will take care of it.’”

That tracks. Mariota is a longtime veteran in this league, and him being able to pick up & operate offensive coordinator David Blough’s offense is reassuring. In a half of football after all seemed lost with Daniels going down, Mariota stepped in and went 11-for-16 for 111 yards and a touchdown pass. If your backup can come in the game and do that, then that’s objectively good.

Quinn also noted that Mariota is a fast processor as a quarterback. The press conference was positive overall, and Quinn handled the reporters’ questions well, saying the right things about his quarterback.

The Mariota scouting report: What he does well & what he doesn’t

From years of observing Mariota in the NFL, here’s the breakdown:

Mariota hands the ball off, runs the offense efficiently, and doesn’t create the weird procedural issues you’d get from a young quarterback without the reps. He runs the ball in effective spots. He extends plays with his legs. There were a couple of plays against Dallas in the pocket that were impressive.

It’s definitely not 2021 Marcus Mariota anymore, and it’s certainly not 2016 Marcus Mariota, but he still has NFL athleticism. He was making Cowboys defensive linemen miss. The margin is thinner than earlier in his career, but that tool is still in the bag.

Here’s the throw that defines Mariota’s game: the corner safety hole on the sideline. He’s going to throw that ball whenever he can. It’s his throw. In the Dallas game, he took that shot to wide receiver Dyami Brown, which should have been a touchdown. Every single time Mariota comes into a game, he makes that throw and everyone goes, “Huh, Marcus Mariota is pretty good. Who is this guy?” Three-step drop, drop it in the bucket. Defenses will game plan for it, but if he has the opportunity to throw that ball about 30 yards down the sideline, he’s taking it. And it’s going to be a pretty good throw.

Now comes the frustrating part. Mariota is going to throw into double coverage or tight coverage. That has never been hammered out of him. He’ll make a decision at the line, lock in, and throw it regardless of the coverage. That’s maddening. But through the backup quarterback lens, there are far more backup quarterbacks worse than Marcus Mariota across the NFL. And Daniels hasn’t been ruled out for the entire season, so Washington is in a holding pattern.

The schedule gives Washington a real path

Here’s how the next few weeks should look, operating on the timeline that maybe Daniels can return after the bye.

Mariota needs to outduel Drew Lock this week against Seattle. Washington catches a break not facing Sam Darnold, because Darnold & the Seahawks obviously work well together. The Seattle defense is still a problem for Washington, but Drew Lock has yet to have a Drew Lock game. He’s due for one of those. The following week, Mariota can duel with Daniel Jones & the Colts. Indianapolis has been bleeding points early, they’re banged up, and their foundation is the run game, not the defensive backfield. Mariota could end up having a decent day.

Then there’s New York with Jameis Winston. The latest reporting on Jaxson Dart is that the Giants could be without their quarterback for the rest of the season, giving Washington two cracks at a Giants team now rolling with Jameis.

Winston didn’t look good against the Rams, throwing balls 60 miles per hour to receivers running dig routes. Mariota looked far better than Jameis in the Dallas game.

Lastly, the 49ers game will be no fun and represents the biggest challenge, but that’s just one game.

Play action & read option could be the key

One last note from Quinn’s press conference: he mentioned play action in this offense multiple times. The Commanders are still committing to that aspect of Blough’s offense, which is encouraging.

Mariota can run play action. He also knows how to run a great read option. If Washington needs to go tempo against Seattle, mixing in some read option could catch the Seahawks by surprise. If Seattle is projecting heavy play action, Mariota has the versatility to make them pay.

Quinn deferred on any Daniels timeline, respectfully shutting down the question. He’s not going to get on the hook for projecting a return date when he doesn’t have one. Fair enough. Washington stays optimistic, stays patient, & lets Mariota hold down the fort.