The Detroit Lions are looking to rebound from a difficult loss to the rival Minnesota Vikings, and it appears likely they’ll face a Washington Commanders team that’s reeling even more.
The Commanders saw star quarterback Jayden Daniels knocked out of Sunday night’s blowout loss to the Seattle Seahawks with a gruesome elbow injury. While Daniels is expected to undergo testing on Monday that will determine his status, early reports indicate he will miss significant time — starting with next week’s game against the Lions.
Jayden Daniels Goes Down Late
The Seahawks had already built an insurmountable lead at the time Daniels went down with close to eight minutes remaining in Sunday’s game. The Commanders quarterback scrambled to the right sideline and was tackled by Seahawks linebacker Drake Thomas. As Daniels attempted to brace himself, his non-throwing arm appeared to bend the wrong way at the elbow.
While there is still the formality of an MRI on Monday, NFL on CBS reporter Jonathan Jones noted on Monday that the Commanders are expected to put Daniels on injured reserve.
“The path forward for Jayden Daniels involves an MRI today to determine the extent of the injury we saw last night,” Jones shared in a post on X. “He seems destined for the injured reserve, and the tests will help determine how long that stay could be.”
Commanders head coach Dan Quinn also hinted that Daniels would be out for a long time, saying he felt terrible for the young quarterback who is coming off a season where he was named Offensive Rookie of the Year.
“Obviously, I’m just gutted by it, I’m just bummed,” Quinn said, via CBS Sports.
Lions Get Chance to Rebound
The Lions have done well in rebounding from losses so far this season. They reeled off four straight wins after a season-opening loss to the Green Bay Packers, then responded to a resounding loss to the Kansas City Chiefs by beating the NFC-leading Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Speaking to reporters after Sunday’s loss to the Vikings, Lions head coach Dan Campbell said the team would need to clean up a lot on offense.
“We need to be â our first and second down efficiency has got to be better. Iâd start there,” Campbell said of the third-down issues. “Then, yes, the third-down is still an issue. We didnât run the ball well, 3.3 average, that ainât good enough. You canât run it, itâs hard to be an explosive offense because now youâre a sitting duck. Youâll sit back there in gun and everybody knows youâre passing, and they just pin their ears back and they go after you and run all the games and get up there and mugs and all that good stuff.”
The Lions will have a chance to avenge the 45-31 loss to the Commanders in last year’s divisional round of the NFL playoffs, a game where Daniels picked apart the Detroit defense.
That won’t happen this year, as the Commanders will be forced to turn back to veteran Marcus Mariota to face the Lions. Mariota started three games while Daniels was out with an ankle injury earlier this season, going 1-2.
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