Mariota had his teammates' backing.
Commanders' Marcus Mariota hails 'belief' as big reason for Raiders win originally appeared on The Sporting News
No Jayden Daniels, no problem? That was the feel coming out of the Washington Commanders' 41-24 win over the Las Vegas Raiders as Marcus Mariota stepped in and performed in a way we have seen him do before.
Mariota was efficient in his return to the starting lineup, going 15 of 21 for 207 yards and a touchdown while also rushing for 40 yards and a touchdown on six carries.
The Commanders posted 400 yards of total offense as Kliff Kingsbury's unit averaged 7.4 yards per play, converted 50 percent of their third downs (5 of 10), and only allowed one sack.
But what made Mariota so comfortable to be able to go out and perform the way he did?
“First and foremost, just thankful and grateful for just an unbelievable group of guys,” Mariota said. “Belief is so powerful, and those guys from Monday were just, hey, you got this, and I think that instilled confidence in me to just go out there and just play my game. But it was cool to see all three phases come together. It's a great stepping stone for us as we move forward in the season.”
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Mariota proves to be great asset
We often hear people say that the most important position in football is the backup quarterback spot, and Mariota has proved time and time again the value of having a good backup quarterback and what that can do for an offense.
In his two games last season, Mariota was flawless, going for a combined 34 of 44 for 364 yards and four touchdowns with no interceptions, and against the Raiders, he added to that, with only six incompletions, along with another passing touchdown for over 200 passing yards.
It is fair to say that with Mariota as the backup to Daniels, should No. 5 not be completely healthy in Week 4, there will be confidence that Marcus can go out, perform well, and win the game.
Because that's all he's done since arriving in Washington.
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