10 Commanders Quotes That Define Washington Entering Week 3 vs. Seahawks

The Washington Commanders enter Week 3 looking for answers after an 0-2 start, and they’ll have to find some of them without Jayden Daniels. With Marcus Mariota taking over at quarterback and a defense trying to clean up some costly mistakes, here are 10 quotes that help define where Washington stands entering Sunday’s matchup with the Seattle Seahawks.

10. Daronte Jones — Jaxon Smith-Njigba can “break the game wide open”

Question: “To go from facing a couple really good receivers that Dallas has to now facing Jaxon Smith-Njigba, what is the challenge that poses, and what do you see in him that makes him really difficult to cover?”

“Oh, well, he's special. You know, he has a way to catch the ball all over the field. He can obviously take the top off the coverage. He led the league in explosives last year with 29. And so he provides that, but he also provides a level of finding space in underneath coverage. And so premium awareness is one of the things we're harping on. And you got to know where these guys are at all times. And everyone, not just secondary — defensive linemen, linebackers — everyone has to know where he is because he can break the game wide open. And so just been focusing, that's part of the communication. ‘Hey, where is he?’ Let's try to find out where he is so guys can communicate accordingly. And then again, helping with that, having the attention of it can also maybe have the coverage aspect like, ‘Where is he? Let me work a little bit wider. Let me get off my spot a little bit more,’ just so I can insulate that a little bit better.”

9. David Blough — Trick plays are “normal plays” to Washington

Question: “You had the trick play with Antonio Williams, then came right back with another trick play. What's the thinking behind calling two of them in a row?”

“I think philosophically speaking, we view them as normal plays, just opportunities for us to take advantage of trying to make people cover 53-and-a-third wide all the way to the end zone. And we got a lot of guys who can throw, as you saw. Antonio had the first attempt, Dami there. And we work these plays a lot. We view them as normal plays. So if we think that's the best opportunity for us to convert on a third-and-long, we'll let it rip. If we think it's the best chance to convert on a first-and-10, we'll turn it loose there, too. We like to be aggressive and keep those guys engaged in that way.”

Antonio Williams throws to the wrong shoulder, which would be a bigger concern if he were actually a QB pic.twitter.com/DR5Do0r0EP
— Christian D'Andrea (@TrainIsland) September 20, 2026

8. Daronte Jones — Takeaways are still the defense’s “most glaring” missing piece

Question: “Two games in, you've probably done a deep dive looking at the defense overall. What are you not seeing yet that you really want to see at this stage moving forward?”

“Yeah, the most glaring thing that we'd love to see is just takeaways. That's something that we've been stressing and working on day-to-day, going back to OTAs, and forcing in terms of that mindset so it can become subconscious, so guys are constantly attacking the ball. And that's where I think we need to grow and continue to progress that way so we can get the ball off these guys and get our offense some extra possessions. Takeaways change it. It changes the game. The turnover margin changes the game, and we have to do our part with that.”

7. Marcus Mariota — “I really think of myself as a point guard”

Question: “You had a lot of production last year when you were able to get the ball out in less than 2.5 seconds. What have been the keys for you in being able to get the ball out so quickly?”

“Yeah, I really think of myself as a point guard. The more that I can get these guys the ball, the playmakers, especially faster, the more space they got, the more that they can do with it. I used to joke, like, they tackle the guy with the ball. So the more that I can get it out of my hand, by all means. But at the same token, it takes a lot, right? Your offensive line has to be able to hold our guys up front, the receivers, they got to get open in that type of timing. So it takes a collective group effort. But for me, I've always tried to focus on getting these guys the ball.”

6. Dan Quinn — Commanders were “absolutely gutted” when Daniels went down

Question: “There's been a viral clip going around from the TV broadcast over the last few days. It looks like most of the guys were walking off the field into the half. Being around the guys, what is your sense of the locker room when it comes to Jayden?”

“I'm glad you brought that up because it's just the opposite. In fact, these guys were absolutely gutted. When the half is over, the referee even came and said, ‘Dan, I can't delay the half,’ and they can't stay on the field. And they were like, ‘No, I'm staying.’ So it's just the opposite. In fact, they were gutted. They love this guy. And so halftime was hard. It was emotional in that space. But I'm glad you actually brought it up. I thought coming back out, Marcus was in the front of it, ‘Hey, let's get going,’ and we had a drive to get started right away. But it was definitely difficult, for sure.”

5. David Blough — “There’s no time for that. Nobody cares.”

Question: “With Sam possibly being out with the concussion and potentially more changes on the offensive line, a backup quarterback and maybe no Chig Okonkwo, what's the challenge for you as a play caller and game planner when there's been this much shuffling on offense?”

“The same thing as when we were building the system. It's how do we put our players in a position to have the most likelihood of success. And so we evaluate our own roster and what we do have. We're not reflecting on what we don't right now. There's no time for that. Nobody cares. And so we are certainly going to do everything we can to put our guys in the best position possible to beat Seattle.”

4. Daronte Jones — Commanders may need to take the defense from “400-level” back to “100-, 200-level”

Question: “With Sonny, headed into Game 3, how is he mentally processing everything? Do you think it's slowing down, and how is he as a student of it?”

“Sonny, I mean, he's been fine. He has had no, I guess, communication issues in terms of making the wrong calls, setting the defense the incorrect way. Last week was the first week we had to do that for the entire game. And obviously you're looking into that, it's like, okay, how much can he handle? And the layers of that. And so we got to be mindful of removing some of those layers as well just to take some of that thought process out. And that's where I think the question was asked earlier in terms of how much scheme, how much is going in right now. And that's where the self-reflection and the self-scouting is going in. It's like, ‘You know what? Okay, let's dial it back to maybe 100-, 200-level and not be on the 400-level in certain things.’”

3. David Blough — Commanders are ready to “turn [Mariota] loose”

Question: “What is the biggest difference game planning with Marcus instead of Jayden?”

“You know, I think as we piece this plan together, you realize the ownership that we've imparted on them over the last, call it six months together. Marcus has gone for it in such a big way for us to be able to just allow him to step right in and run our system, right? We will be very cognizant of the things that he does well, but we're excited to kind of turn him loose, too.”

Sep 20, 2026; Arlington, Texas, USA; Washington Commanders quarterback Marcus Mariota (8) drops back to pass against the Dallas Cowboys during the second half at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

2. Marcus Mariota — No “Superman cape” replacing Daniels

Question: “Dan Quinn said to be yourself and that you don't have to do more than that. How do you stop yourself from feeling like you have to be the superhero and save the day?”

“Yeah, I really think I learned a lot about that last year. Stepping in in some of those games, you feel like you have to kind of make a play, and sometimes you overstress yourself and now you're making a mistake. You're fumbling the football, you're throwing a pick. And so for me, I feel like I took a lot of those lessons, and with what happened in the game on Sunday, was able to kind of stay within myself, play the game that I know how to play, and it really kind of led to some success. So the more that I can kind of focus on those types of things, not put the cape on, as people say, and just allow everybody else in the offense to work for us, I think the better that I'll play and the better the position for our offense.”

1. Dan Quinn — “Doing the hard shit with good people”

Question: “How are you doing as a coach, and how do you feel going into the home opener at 0-2?”

“Yeah, I think the answer in reverse order, man, are we pumped to get back home in front of the home crowd. I feel like we haven't been home in front of the fans for a while. So that part, the team's very excited for. For me, I wanna make sure that I'm reminding them, it's hard. That's the cost of where we're at. But it's also, that's the NFL and figuring out those things together and doing the hard shit with good people, like, these are the right guys to get there. And so, I wanted to make sure I was clear on what I liked and this is the part that I wanna make sure we nail down. And so, just wanna stand tall on that for them. Give them what their feedback needs to be, but also make sure I'm the one that's saying, like, ‘I know what we are capable of.’ And so, I'm gonna push them like crazy to get there.”

Washington has spent the week talking about what needs to change. Now, with Mariota under center and the Seahawks coming to town, it’s time to see how much of that talk carries over to the field.

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