The Washington Commanders couldn’t have asked for a worse way to end the first half than with what happened in Sunday’s game against the Dallas Cowboys.
Quarterback Jayden Daniels was carted off the field after he suffered a gruesome injury to his left elbow on the final play of the first half. Daniels fumbled the snap and his arm awkwardly went in the wrong direction as he frantically tried to complete a pass from the 1-yard line. The pass fell incomplete, keeping the Cowboys’ lead at 17-10.
Daniels was in immediate pain, favoring his left arm and couldn’t leave the field without assistance. A couple of minutes later, the cart arrived and Daniels left the field.
The Commanders wound up losing 37-20, but there was more bad news surrounding Daniels after the game. He suffered a dislocated elbow, Commanders head coach Dan Quinn said.
Prior to the injury, Daniels was having one of his best performances in a while. He completed 11 of 17 passes for 96 yards and a touchdown, adding 69 yards on the ground.
Daniels suffered a similar injury to the same elbow last year. He dislocated his elbow late in the 2025 season in a matchup against the Seattle Seahawks. That was one of a few injuries that forced Daniels to miss 10 games in 2025, missing roughly a month due to the elbow ailment.
Marcus Mariota replaced Daniels at quarterback in the second half. He completed 11 of 16 passes for 111 yards and a touchdown in the loss.
