Commanders vs. Seahawks: 3 things to watch, including Marcus Mariota’s new approach

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ASHBURN, Va. — Van Jefferson was there the night Baker Mayfield resurrected his career with the Los Angeles Rams.

A Thursday night game, 48 hours to prepare, only one practice under his belt. Head coach Sean McVay didn’t care. Let it rip, he told the newly signed backup.

Mayfield threw for 230 yards and led a 98-yard touchdown drive to beat the Raiders in Week 14 of the 2022 season. Jefferson, now a practice squad player in Washington, caught two passes for 44 yards and a touchdown.

“We just had to make it easy for him,” Jefferson remembered. “Be in our spots.”

The Commanders don’t need Mayfield-level heroics this week, but they do need a steady hand at the most important position in the game. Backup Marcus Mariota, another veteran, is taking over for franchise star Jayden Daniels. And like Jefferson said, Washington is trying to make it as easy as possible.

“I was kinda looking back on it and reflecting and I thought, ‘[Don’t] overstress and like, hey, go and play within the system,’” Mariota said.

Mariota has been put in this situation before. He started eight games in place of Daniels last year and played in 11 overall. He’s been a backup off and on for the last seven years.

But this season, he’s focused on simplifying things. He had a tendency to go for the big play last year, throwing seven interceptions to 10 touchdowns.

“I was coming in trying to just make a play and I was kind of putting on this Superman cape,” Mariota said. “Because I think as a backup, you’re like, ‘I gotta go make a play. I gotta try to help these teams win.’ But at the same token, the more that you can play within the system, it just kinda happens naturally.”

Here are three things to watch as Washington plays Seattle.

A different type of attack

Washington built its entire offense around Daniels this offseason. His unique ability to run and pass allowed the Commanders to stay in games.

Mariota has made a career from being a dual-threat quarterback, but he is 33 years old now and doesn’t have the same burst he once did. Some of his limitations might force offensive coordinator David Blough to lean into different parts of the scheme.

“Part of the backup role is you kinda fill the needs [of the offense]. You’re gonna like a lot of the stuff that [Daniels] likes,” Mariota said. “There is a little bit of difference here and there. I feel very confident that I can communicate, ‘Hey, maybe this concept I don’t like as much, maybe this concept is something that I’ve done before that I like.’”

Still, Mariota is a well-known commodity in Washington, having been here for each year of head coach Dan Quinn’s tenure.

“I think the biggest thing is, what do you want to feature with Marcus that you didn’t with Jayden?” Quinn said. “But there is no pullback [of the offense] or any of that. So we’re fortunate in that way. It won’t be exactly the same, but they’ll have a lot of similarities.”

One thing Mariota will have to deal with is a short-handed offense. Starting right guard Sam Cosmi has been in concussion protocol all week, and starting tight end Chig Okonkwo hasn’t played since Week 1.

“We’re not reflecting on what we don’t have right now. There’s no time for that. Nobody cares,” Blough said. “We are certainly gonna do everything we can to put our guys in the best position possible to beat Seattle.”

Stopping the deep ball

The first two weeks of the season saw Washington’s secondary get torched on long passing plays.

Cowboys star CeeDee Lamb went for over 150 yards and two touchdowns last Sunday. The week before that, Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts connected with Dontayvion Wicks on a 64-yard strike that set up a touchdown and tight end Dallas Goedert on a 43-yard catch-and-run for another score.

Defensive coordinator Daronte Jones said those explosive plays were mostly due to communication issues.

But there won’t be any reprieve this week as All-Pro Jaxon Smith-Njigba, last year’s Offensive Player of the Year, comes to town. He just torched Arizona for 155 yards and three touchdowns. If the Commanders don’t fix their communication in the secondary, it could be another long day.

“It was an amazing run for him last year, and to see some of the same things already taking place for him this year, he’s got a rare ability,” Quinn said. “So he is definitely what we’d say, a premium [player]. Our eyes, techniques, things that need special consideration is a big part of the way [to defend him]. It’s a challenge.”

Getting Terry involved

Washington still hasn’t seen the usual output from top receiver Terry McLaurin. He is fourth on the team in receptions and third in receiving yards.

Blough said he wants him featured more this week. But how can they do that?

“I think it will come,” Blough said. “We continue to do right longer and he will reap the harvest of continuing to be detailed. The production will come, right? It just hasn’t yet. But we will certainly do what we can to help get him going.”