NFL London Games 2026: Marcus Mariota to start for Washington Commanders vs Indianapolis Colts as Jayden Daniels ruled out

Head coach Dan Quinn announced the decision on Friday after practice at the team's hotel accommodations outside London.

Daniels returned to practice this week after dislocating his elbow in Week Two against the Dallas Cowboys. He's been wearing a protective brace and had expressed no concerns about further damage, but the Commanders will hold him out for at least one more game.

"[Daniels] had a great week. It was awesome to have him back on the field in a limited fashion," Quinn said. "He'll be out. Marcus will start."

Quinn called Daniels' return to practice "a huge positive step for him and for us."

"We'll assess where we are next week when we get to a full week of practice all the way through," the coach said.

Last week, Mariota threw three touchdown passes in the 33-31 win over the reigning champion Seattle Seahawks.

Daniels' elbow dislocation was the second in as many seasons for Daniels, who missed most of the second half of last season with the same injury.

The third-year quarterback, who led the Commanders to the NFC Championship Game in his rookie season, had said on Thursday he was preparing mentally to start against the Colts and wasn't worried about re-injuring the elbow.

"That's what the brace is for," Daniels said.

The Commanders host the New York Giants on Sunday, October 11. The team has a bye in Week Seven.

"Certainly, anytime you can practice, that's a big deal," Quinn said. "So for him to get back, that was a big step for us. Typical for him, he's more ready than you'd expect. That's just kind of how he is."

Quinn was asked what he needs to see to put Daniels back on the field, and said: "It's really just like an entire group medical performance.

"Where he's at, the practice part was a big piece of that today. But next week we're planning for him to get a full week of practice. That would be a big deal for us."

Speaking on this week's edition of Inside The Huddle , Neil Reynolds and Phoebe Schecter looked ahead to the game with both teams coming off wins in Week Three.

"When you come off a win you get a little bit of a different schedule, but you have hope and they both really needed these wins, especially the Commanders. The confidence that should give them, especially having Mariota at quarterback. That is exactly what we need going into these International games," said Schecter.

The Colts have an offence still without wide receiver Alec Pierce and are waiting for quarterback Daniel Jones to get up to the speed of last year.

"They're not the same without an explosive running game," explained Schecter. "So much of that team is run through Jonathan Taylor and they're struggling to get the ball going consistently. He has his sparks but there's nothing that's consistent. That's forcing Daniel Jones into this uncomfortable position because right now your top players are Josh Downs and tight end Tyler Warren. That also limits where you're able to throw it on the field.

"Other than that you got [Laquon] Treadwell, Keenan Allen. I mean if you're this Commanders defence, you're coming into it saying: 'We're going to take away everything inside and we're going to force you to throw it outside to your lesser receiver and out you under pressure.'

"We've read that book before and saw it a couple of times last year when people felt they had Daniel Jones' number.

"It should be a high-scoring game but I'm going to go with the Commanders."

Reynolds said: "This is a game that Jonathan Taylor takes over. They don't attack Washington through the air because they don't have the weapons so this is a big Jonathan Taylor game. He's going to touch the ball at least 30 times, so give me the Indianapolis Colts."

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