ATLANTA — While the Washington Commanders rolled on offense even with starting quarterback Jayden Daniels out with a left knee injury last weekend, the Atlanta Falcons and starting quarterback Michael Penix Jr. fell flat in a shutout loss.
Daniels and his fill-in, former Atlanta quarterback Marcus Mariota, have the support of an unquestioned commitment to the running game as the Commanders (2-1) prepare to visit the Falcons (1-2) on Sunday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Mariota ran for one touchdown and threw for another in a 41-24 win over the Las Vegas Raiders in his first start in an NFL regular-season game since going 5-8 for Atlanta in 2022, his lone season with the Falcons.
The Falcons have much respect for Daniels, who was the No. 2 pick of the 2024 draft and is the league’s reigning offensive rookie of the year, but defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich said the 31-year-old Mariota and his skills as a dual-threat quarterback also are difficult to defend against.
“I’ve had experience with him at the collegiate level and the professional level,” Ulbrich said earlier in the week, before Daniels was ruled out of this weekend’s game. “So I’m getting sick and tired of playing against him (Mariota). He’s a pain in the butt. He’s a better athlete than you want him to be. He can run that offense at a high level. So regardless of who we face, it’s going to be a tremendous challenge.”
Mariota, who won the 2014 Heisman Trophy at Oregon while leading the Ducks to the inaugural College Football playoff national championship in his final season, was the No. 2 pick of the 2015 draft for the Tennessee Titans. After losing his starting job midway through his fifth season in Nashville, he spent the next two years as a backup for the Raiders, then signed with the Falcons after they traded longtime starter Matt Ryan to the Indianapolis Colts in March 2022. He beat out third-round draft pick Desmond Ridder for the top job in Atlanta, although the rookie took over as the starter for the final four games that season and Mariota opted to have season-ending surgery for a chronic knee injury.
Mariota landed with the Philadelphia Eagles after that, making three appearances for them in the 2023 season, then doing the same with the Commanders in 2024. In his start last Sunday, he was 15-of-21 passing for 206 yards without being intercepted, although he did lose a fumble on a run.
“I love this system,” Mariota said.
The Commanders have averaged 157.3 rushing yards per game, which ranked second to the Buffalo Bills entering the fourth week of the season.
The Falcons are sixth with 139.3 rushing yards per game but haven’t provided the same consistent run support for Penix, the No. 8 pick of last year’s draft who became the starter with three games to go in his rookie season. Days after coach Raheem Morris said running back Bijan Robinson “is definitely the best player in football,” the third-year pro was limited to 13 carries for 72 yards in last Sunday’s embarrassing 30-0 road loss to the Carolina Panthers that dropped the Falcons to 0-2 in NFC South Division play.
The early trend should be clear to Morris and the Falcons. After opening with a 23-20 home loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers — the four-time reigning NFC South champions — Atlanta’s offense thrived in a 22-6 road win against the Minnesota Vikings on Sept. 14 when Robinson had 22 carries for 143 yards and Penix passed for 135 yards but did not throw an interception.
Though the Falcons trailed only 10-0 at halftime last week, Morris said the deficit allowed Carolina to “take away that threat of (Robinson) having the ability to run the football every time.”
Robinson had fewer than 14 carries in each of Atlanta’s two losses. Penix threw two interceptions, including one returned for a touchdown, against Carolina.
With Daniels still sidelined and Penix needing to bounce back after being pulled in the fourth quarter last week — Morris said it was only to protect the starter from unnecessary injury in an out-of-hand game, and the coach emphasized veteran Kirk Cousins would not be competing for a return to the starting role — the key may be the comparison of the running games.
In a week of changes for Atlanta’s offense, Morris expressed unwavering support for Penix. When he was reminded that Cousins lost the starting job after struggling late last season, Morris said: “We’re not even close to that moment with Mike. … Mike’s our quarterback. We’ve got a lot of confidence in Mike. We’re moving forward with Mike.”
Morris fired wide receivers coach Ike Hilliard on Monday, and passing game coordinator T.J. Yates is now coaching that position. In addition, offensive coordinator Zac Robinson is moving from the coaches’ box to the field for Sunday’s game, a move intended to allow him to offer clearer communication and extra support to Penix.
The Commanders also will be without leading receiver Terry McLaurin (quadriceps), who was ruled out along with Daniels on Friday.
“He’s working incredibly hard, round the clock, to get back,” Washington second-year head coach Dan Quinn said of Daniels, who led the Commanders to the NFC championship game last season. “Ultimately, doctors haven’t cleared him just yet.”
Washington is also without its other starting outside receiver, Noah Brown, and blocking tight end John Bates as both deal with groin injuries. Rookie running back Jacory “Bill” Croskey-Merritt (knee) is expected to play against the Falcons after participating in Friday’s practice.
After losing Austin Ekeler for the season with a torn Achilles tendon, the Commanders doubled down on their running game last week with a group of guys getting touches: Croskey-Merritt, fellow running backs Jeremy McNichols and Chris Rodriguez, receiver Deebo Samuel and a healthy dose of Mariota.
“I am comfortable sharing the responsibility, and let’s see what the game presents coming up,” Quinn said. “And sometimes the guy gets hot and feels it, and we’ll lean into that, too.”
Add it all up, and the Commanders put up 174 rushing yards by halftime against Las Vegas — their most yards on the ground in a first half in 15 years — and finished with 201.
Quinn, who coached the Falcons from 2015-20 and in the 2016 season led them to just the second Super Bowl appearance in franchise history, is downplaying his latest return to Atlanta. He previously came backs as the defensive coordinator for the Dallas Cowboys and also coached the Commanders to a 30-24 overtime win over Atlanta last season when the Falcons visited Washington.
“We’ve played them last year and other times before, but I always have huge gratitude for (Falcons owner) Arthur Blank, his family and giving me the opportunity to do that,” Quinn said. “But past that, it is for the guys in between the white lines, so we’ll be ready to battle.”