Marcus Mariota ruled out in Week 4 with right knee injury, Commanders already down Jayden Daniels

The Washington Commanders came into Week 4 dealing with multiple significant injuries on offense. Early in the contest, they were dealt another one, as quarterback Marcus Mariota was forced to leave the game after a first-quarter sack.

The play occurred on Washington's second drive of the game. With the team deep in Indianapolis Colts' territory, Mariota was sacked on a third-and-goal. The Commanders were forced to kick a field goal at the end of the drive, taking a 6-0 lead.

Mariota headed to the blue tent on the sideline before being taken back to the locker room. The Commanders eventually announced a right knee injury for Mariota. He was initially deemed questionable to return before being ruled out before the start of the third quarter.

On the team's next drive, Athan Kaliakmanis entered the game as the team's starting quarterback. The drive marked Kaliakmanis' NFL debut. The team selected him out of Rutgers in the seventh round of the 2026 NFL Draft.

Mariota's injury comes at an awful time for the Commanders. The team came into Sunday's contest without starting quarterback Jayden Daniels, backup running back Rashaad White and No. 1 receiver Terry McLaurin.

While the Commanders' offense stalled twice with Mariota under center — settling for field goals — the veteran had shown some big-play potential before going down. Prior to leaving the game, Mariota had a 35-yard rush and found running back Jacory Croskey-Merritt on a short gain that wound up going for 35 yards.

Kaliakmanis could not get anything going offensively for the Commanders, leading to the team falling behind 10-6 at halftime.