Costly mistakes: Franchise QB Jayden Daniels, All-Pro Marvin Mims Jr. injured late in blowouts

By Canadian Press on November 4, 2025.

With a surge in blowouts in the NFL, head coaches might want to take stock of two scenarios that backfired when star players were injured in the waning moments of games that were already way out of hand.

Washington coach Dan Quinn admitted it was a mistake to leave franchise quarterback Jayden Daniels in the game in the fourth quarter Sunday night. The Commanders were down 38-7 to Seattle in a game they’d eventually lose 38-14. The second-year quarterback and reigning Offensive Rookie of the Year dislocated his left elbow with 7:29 remaining when he was tackled and his non-throwing arm bent gruesomely after he put his hand on the ground to brace himself.

Quinn said that was going to be the last drive for a few key players, and the plan was to avoid having Daniels run the ball, but that wasn’t enough to keep him out of trouble. He took a shotgun snap near the goal line, faked a handoff and then moved to his right to avoid pressure before being brought down.

“That’s where I missed it,” Quinn said. “Of course he could scramble. It’s Jayden. It’s what he’s special at. That is 100% — that’s on me.”

This costly strategic blunder came one week after Denver Broncos All-Pro kick returner Marvin Mims Jr. suffered a concussion on a runback against Dallas with less than 5 minutes remaining in the Broncos’ 44-24 rout of the Cowboys.

Asked about the wisdom of having Mims still in the game with a 20-point lead late in the game, Broncos coach Sean Payton acknowledged last week that it was a mistake.

Payton said special teams coordinator/assistant head coach Darren Rizzi meant to send in Tyler Badie for Mims but “somehow, the communication failed. Tyler went in for RJ (Harvey). But, fair question. Right at that stage of the game, you’re trying to be smart.”

Mims sustained a concussion on the play and missed Denver’s 18-15 win at Houston over the weekend when his replacement, Michael Bandy, muffed a punt just before halftime that led to a Texans field goal.

That was one of a batch of blunders by Denver’s suspect special teams Sunday that led to Payton getting peppered with questions for the second straight week about his middling kicking game.

Payton’s special teams were stellar in his first two seasons in Denver but he fired Ben Kotwica in January along with assistant Chris Banjo, who was hired by the Jets. Despite a stellar reputation, Rizzi’s units have been marred by mistakes on an almost weekly basis and even cost the Broncos (7-2) a win at Indianapolis.

What bothered Payton most on Sunday were late substitutions. And when Payton said after the game, “we’ll get that cleaned up or we’ll find someone else that can do it,” he was referring to personnel changes on special teams, not coaching changes.

“I’m referring to players that aren’t on the field that need to be,” Payton said Monday. “Coaching is outstanding. We’ll get that cleaned up. My point is, if there are 10 (players) on the field and there are supposed to be 11, then that player that’s supposed to be out there, I’ll find someone else to do his job.”

Marvin’s absence was every bit as impactful as the loss of reigning Defensive Player of the Year Patrick Surtain II (pectoral strain), around whom defensive coordinator Vance Joseph builds his defensive scheme. Mims returns punts and kicks and lines up at both wide receiver and in the backfield on offense, so it took several players to replace him.

Rizzi demurred last week when asked how Mims was accidentally left in the game.

“Listen, I’m not avoiding the question, but I’m not going to get into substitutions and how we do it and injury stuff, I’m going to leave that to Sean,” he said. “I appreciate the question. I know where you’re going with that. I’m just going to let him handle that. With the substitution stuff, it’s a competitive advantage thing and I just don’t want to get into that sort of stuff.”

While Mims was mistakenly kept in the game two weeks ago, Daniels was deliberately left in the game when he sustained his injury, which could derail Washington’s season that began with such high hopes after Daniels fueled the Commanders’ run to the NFC championship game as a rookie.

“I’m bummed,” Quinn said after the game, and so was his team and its fanbase after watching Daniels leave the field with his left elbow in an air cast.

It marked the third consecutive game that Daniels got hurt. He’s also dealt with a sprained knee and a pulled hamstring.

Although Quinn stopped short of ruling Daniels out for the season, the Commanders (3-6) almost certainly need to go on a significant run without him for his return later on to make much sense.

“Haven’t even gone there,” Quinn said. “That’s a way-down-the-line space to get into.”

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AP Sports Writer Noah Trister contributed.

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Arnie Stapleton, The Associated Press