When asked last week what the main difference is between game planning for quarterbacks Jayden Daniels and Marcus Mariota, Commanders offensive coordinator David Blough said both were capable of running the same playbook.
In fact, when it came to Mariota, Blough couldn’t wait to “turn him loose” against the defending champion Seahawks.
And how did that pan out? Mariota threw for three touchdowns in Washington’s 33-31 upset win over Seattle.
We took a look at the All-22 version of the game tape to see how the Commanders unleashed the 12-year veteran — and how they might use him this Sunday in London against the Colts, if Daniels remains out.
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Short and Sweet
One of Mariota’s strengths is his ability to get the ball out quickly and accurately to his receivers. That can include deep shots, of course, but the main advantage comes from chipping away at the defense as you work your way up the field.
Much like the Commanders, the Seahawks play a lot of zone defense: Their 91.2% zone rate is the highest in the NFL, according to Sharp Football Analysis. So the Commanders attacked the zone early and often.
On Washington’s first play of the game they ran a play-action fake that gave Mariota the option of tight end John Bates in the flat or running back Bill Croskey-Merritt in the middle of the field, both wide open (below). Mariota connected with Croskey-Merritt for 7 yards.
Later in the first quarter, facing a 3rd and 10 on their own 43-yard line, wide receiver Terry McLaurin ran a 5-yard out route into wide open space because Seattle’s defense left open everything underneath. Mariota set his feet and fired off to McLaurin, who turned up field for an 11-yard gain and first down.
With just under nine minutes left in the fourth quarter, Washington lined up to go for it on 4th and 1 on Seattle’s 39-yard line. The Seahawks had just erased a 14-point deficit to tie the game at 24-24. A failure would have handed Seattle excellent field position with a chance to take its first lead of the game.
Mariota took the snap, stepped back, planted his feet and fired off to McLaurin on a quick slant route for a 5-yard pickup. Washington ended up getting a Drew Stevens 36-yard field goal on the drive, and three plays later Kain Medrano picked off Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold for a 50-yard touchdown return to put Washington up 33-24 late in the fourth quarter.
Mariota was 11 for 14 for 112 yards and one touchdown on plays where he got the ball out in under 2.5 seconds. His 123.8 passer rating on such plays ranked eighth out of all passers in Week 3.
But Also Some Explosives.
Mariota’s afternoon wasn’t predicated on stretching the field. His 5.9 yards per attempt was tied for sixth-lowest rate in the NFL in Week 3, and he attempted just three passes of 20 or more yards all game. But whether through scheming or veteran savviness, the offense found ways to be explosive.
On 2nd and 10 halfway through the second quarter, Blough dialed up a fake flare screen to the right for running back Rachaad White that turned into a middle tunnel screen for receiver Jaylin Lane. This left four defenders on three offensive players over where the fake screen to White had developed. Meanwhile Lane had a convoy of blockers leading the way against just Seahawks safety Drake Thomas (below). The play went for 21 yards and set up an eventual 11-yard touchdown pass to Treylon Burks.
Early in the third quarter and facing a 2nd and 8 from Seattle’s 30-yard line, McLaurin was supposed to run a 12-yard curl route. But after corner Josh Jobe flubbed on his jam of McLaurin off the line, the receiver decided in real time to keep sprinting on a go route.
Mariota, who before Sunday had completed 42 passes to McLaurin since 2024, recognized and launched the ball as McLaurin ran freely. The pass was underthrown and outside, but McLaurin expertly tracked the ballfor a 20-yard score to put Washington up 24-10 early in the third quarter.
“I had a pinch route, which is kind of like a 12-yard curl, and I beat him so clean off the release,” McLaurin said after the game. “I ran the go route, and me and Marcus, have enough time spent to where I just trusted that he was going to see it, and he did, and he put the ball up where only I could get it.”
It Wasn’t All Great.
Mariota’s ability to hang three touchdowns on one of the stingiest defenses in the league was shocking. But it also wasn’t perfect. He completed just 61.3% of his passes on the day and had some bad misses.
On 3rd and 4 on the first drive, Mariota had Stefon Diggs open on a short out route but threw the ball both behind his receiver and towards the ground, leading to a punt (below).
He later stared Diggs down on a short curl route, and Seahawks linebacker Uchenna Nwosu jumped the route. Luckily Nwosu dropped the ball, and a play later was the Lane tunnel screen.
But Mariota’s Key Moment Was the Play
The audacity of Blough. He hadn’t called a single running play for Mariota all game, but in the most important moment of the game, he called Mariota’s number. If the Commanders didn’t convert on 3rd and 7 with 1:36 left in the fourth quarter they risked giving the ball back to Seattle with just a two-point lead; the Seahawks had just marched 68 yards down the field in 66 seconds on the previous possession.
Blough called a zone-read option that intentionally left edge rusher DeMarcus Lawrence unblocked. Once Lawrence committed to Mariota handing the ball off to White, Mariota yanked the ball back and took off right toward open pastures (below). The 9-yard rush iced the game for the Commanders.
“Mariota is a big RPO quarterback,” Lawrence said after the game. “This game, we didn’t see it until the final play of the game.
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