5 major observations from Marcus Mariota's performance against the Raiders

"With no Jayden Daniels leading the charge in Week 3 against the Las Vegas Raiders, the Washington Commanders were relying heavily on veteran backup quarterback Marcus Mariota to do the business at Northwest Stadium. Daniels' participation was always unlikely after sustaining a sprained knee on Thursday Night Football versus the Green Bay Packers. Mariota got all the first-team reps in practice, and offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury was suitably impressed with his timing and grasp of the game plan."

"Doing it in practice is one thing. Doing the same in a competitive regular-season environment is something else entirely. Mariota performed well when his number was called last season. However, it's also worth remembering that it was against the lowly Carolina Panthers, who gave up more than 3,000 rushing yards and the most single-season points in NFL history. This game had special significance for Mariota."

"He spent two years with the Raiders without getting much of an opportunity behind Derek Carr. The game also sees the signal-caller go up against Chip Kelly, who was his head coach at Oregon en route to the Heisman Trophy. All eyes were on Mariota to see how he would fare with the spotlight glaring. As it turned out, Mariota turned back the clock to guide the Commanders back to winning ways in pretty comfortable fashion."

Jayden Daniels was unavailable due to a sprained knee, so Marcus Mariota started for the Washington Commanders in Week 3 against the Las Vegas Raiders. Mariota took all first-team reps in practice and earned praise from offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury for his timing and grasp of the game plan. Past success came against a weak Carolina Panthers defense, but the Week 3 opportunity had added significance because Mariota previously spent two years with the Raiders and faced former Oregon coach Chip Kelly. Mariota showed solid mobility, leaned on the run game early, produced chunk plays, and led Washington to a comfortable win despite one costly fumble.

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