The Washington Commanders put a bow on the 2024 regular season by not only beating the Cowboys 23-19 at AT&T Stadium but also by locking up the sixth seed in the playoffs. Quarterback Marcus Mariota, wide receiver Terry McLaurin and cornerback Mike Sainristil produced strong performances in the Week 18 win.
Marcus Mariota
Coming out of locker room for the second half against Dallas, Washington’s coaching staff made a decision: Jayden Daniels would sit, and Mariota would play.
After being tapped to take the reins of the Commanders’ offense, the Washington backup showed that leadership and a veteran influence for the rookie Daniels were never just the only reasons he’s a Commander this year. Dan Quinn and Adam Peters wanted to bring Mariota in because they knew he could do what he did in Arlington, Texas yesterday — help the team win if called upon.
It didn’t take long for Mariota to find his rhythm after coming in for Daniels. He went through his reads quickly, had an accurate deep ball and made plays with his legs. And while Daniels has been the Washington quarterback touted all season long for being clutch, Mariota proved he’s got that quality in his arsenal, too. On fourth-and-1, with under a minute left and Washington trailing, the 32-year-old ran 33-yards to get into the red zone. He then finished the game-winning drive with massive, ice-in-the-veins plays to Zach Ertz for 11 yards and then Terry McLaurin in the end zone.
Like the Commanders offense as a whole yesterday, it took McLaurin a little bit to get going. Daniels looked for the wideout a few times in the first half, but only one of those resulted in a catch.
While the Daniels-McLaurin connection will be the one to watch as the playoffs begin next weekend, how about the M&M combination of Mariota and McLaurin? It came later but it was worth it in yesterday’s win. McLaurin started to see the ball in the beginning of the fourth, picking up 18 yards on the Commanders’ first possession of that quarter which ended in an Ertz touchdown. Mariota attempted to hit McLaurin for the two-point conversion after that score, and while it failed, it wasn’t the last McLaurin had a shot to make a play in the end zone.
On the final drive of the game, as Washington hunted for the go-ahead touchdown, Mariota found McLaurin four times. After the break for the two-minute warning, McLaurin came up with a catch despite Daron Bland sticking to him very tight. He followed that up with another big catch in suffocating coverage 11 yards on second-and-15.
And then, the catch that won the game and broke a record. With six seconds left, McLaurin, lined up on the left, beat Bland and secured a lofted shot from Mariota in the back of the end zone. The catch gave McLaurin his 13th touchdown of the season, the most receiving touchdowns by a Washington play in franchise history.
