Commanders QB Jayden Daniels leaves game vs. Panthers early with rib injury

Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels left their matchup with the Carolina Panthers early on Sunday afternoon with a rib injury.

Daniels left in the first quarter after taking a couple of hard shots after running with the ball on their first drive, which set up a field goal to put them up 10-0 after the defense opened the game with a pick 6. Daniels was seen grabbing at his ribs while getting up after a tackle. He was in very obvious pain on the sidelines working with trainers.

After trying to throw the ball a bit on the sidelines, Daniels then left for the locker room. He slammed his helmet down to the ground hard as he walked off the field at Northwest Stadium.

Backup Marcus Mariota came in to replace him. The Commanders said Daniels was questionable to return with a rib injury. Daniels went 2-of-2 for 6 yards through the air, and he had three carries for 50 yards on the ground when he went out.

Daniels has dominated this season, his first in the league after his Heisman Trophy campaign with LSU last fall. The rookie entered Sunday’s matchup with 1,404 yards and six touchdowns with just two interceptions while leading the Commanders to a 4-2 start. He’s thrown for at least 230 yards in every game but his NFL debut, and he mounted a four-game win streak before last week’s 30-23 loss to the Baltimore Ravens. Daniels went 24-of-35 for 269 yards with two touchdowns in that loss.

While Mariota struggled on his first drive — the Commanders went three-and-out and had to punt right away — he mounted a five-play, 59 yard touchdown drive on his second time out to push Washington’s lead to 17. Running back Brian Robinson carried that drive with four runs, including his 8-yard touchdown that came after Noah Brown drew a pass interference call to put the Commanders in scoring position. By that point, the Commanders had 118 of their 120 yards on the ground.

This post will be updated with more information shortly.