The Washington Commanders face a stern test of their credentials this weekend in their home opener against the Seattle Seahawks. And with the defending Super Bowl champions set to welcome back starting quarterback Sam Darnold, head coach Dan Quinn's week got even worse.
After leaving their Week 1 game early, Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald confirmed that Darnold is on track to play at Northwest Stadium. As for the Commanders? They will be relying on veteran backup Marcus Mariota after Jayden Daniels sustained another dislocated elbow.
No confirmed timeline has been given yet regarding Daniels' future availability. All options are on the table, but fans should hear more from Quinn on Friday, if not before.
Commanders look set to face Sam Darnold after all in Week 3
That's not the Seahawks' problem.
They'll see the Commanders as another obstacle in their quest for a successful championship defense. Even without Darnold, they are 2-0, leaning on their immensely powerful defense and wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba, who's put up exceptional numbers with Drew Lock under center after winning AP Offensive Player of the Year in 2025.
Now, Darnold is ready to return. And even though his career didn't go according to plan early on, he's risen from the proverbial wilderness in recent years to become a highly serviceable signal-caller on a championship-winning club.
You can still rattle Darnold. But it is a lot harder these days.
After missing most of the first two games, the former USC star will be eager to make up for lost time.
For a defense struggling in the secondary and with communication, this is a big problem. And they won't even have Daniels' dynamic playmaking ability on the opposite side of the football to bail them out.
Daronte Jones has to bring the heat on Sam Darnold in Commanders' home opener
The Commanders' hopes of causing an upset over Seattle were slim before. Now that Darnold looks set to take charge under center again, it doesn't exactly improve matters.
This isn't the same Darnold who looked down and out with the New York Jets and Carolina Panthers. More importantly, defensive coordinator Daronte Jones should know it.
Jones was on the Minnesota Vikings' defensive staff when Darnold's renaissance truly began. He'll know his strengths and weaknesses, but one could argue that the signal-caller has taken his game to even greater heights since then.
It's another complication for the laundry list Washington is already dealing with. And it's not hard to see why the Commanders go into the contest as heavy underdogs despite being on home soil.
Pressure is key. Jones has nothing much to lose, so throwing everything at Darnold with creative blitz packages might just make him uncomfortable enough to make mistakes in his first game back.
If it doesn't work, so what? It's not like anyone expects the Commanders to suffer anything less than a convincing defeat.
The Commanders were probably hoping to see Lock, though he's also played really well filling in for Seattle's No. 1 option. Instead, they get Darnold, and the last time he played a full NFL game, he was hoisting the Vince Lombardi Trophy afterward.
Buckle up...
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