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Marcus Mariota to start for Commanders against Colts in London with Jayden Daniels ruled out

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Cite

Maguire, K. (2026, October 2). Marcus Mariota to start for Commanders against Colts in London with Jayden Daniels ruled out. Toronto Star. https://www.thestar.com/sports/football/marcus-mariota-to-start-for-commanders-against-colts-in-london-with-jayden-daniels-ruled-out/article_96bb93a7-21c6-59e3-8e10-c8ee9a4985a5.html

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

Toronto Star · collected 2026-10-02 · by Ken Maguire

Quick Summary

Marcus Mariota will start for the Washington Commanders against the Indianapolis Colts in London on Sunday after Jayden Daniels, who dislocated his elbow in Week 2, was ruled out despite returning to limited practice this week. Head coach Dan Quinn announced the decision during Friday's practice session, expressing optimism about Daniels' progress but noting that he needs a full week of practice before potentially returning. Mariota had already started last week due to Daniels’ injury.
Written by AI on 2026-10-02, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

Marcus Mariota was ruled out of Sunday's game against the Indianapolis Colts in London due to a knee injury sustained early in the first quarter. The Washington Commanders, who were already without starting quarterback Jayden Daniels (due to an elbow dislocation), had to turn to rookie backup Athan Kaliakmanis for the remainder of the game. Mariota was initially injured when he got sacked by Colts defenders Adetomiwa Adebawore and Laiatu Latu, leading coach Dan Quinn to say they were "gutted" about his injury.

Before exiting, Mariota completed 3 passes for 46 yards and rushed for a gain of 35 yards. Kaliakmanis took over and was 6-for-12 with 33 passing yards in the first half as the Commanders trailed 10-6 at halftime. The rookie threw a critical 47-yard touchdown to Treylon Burks early in the third quarter, reducing the deficit to 17-13.

Terry McLaurin was also ruled out of the game for the Commanders because of a hamstring injury, further hampering Washington's chances against Indianapolis. The Colts' defense managed to keep the score close despite Kaliakmanis' efforts, reflecting the challenges faced by the Commanders in London without their primary quarterbacks.

Written for “Colts Vs Commanders In London” on 2026-11-01, grounded in this article and the 10 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Colts Vs Commanders In London
Sports · 11 article(s) covering the same event. Compare every outlet's account →

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 0% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
New York Post
Hedges 1 of 10 claims Outlet record 66/100
“Article A reports on Marcus Mariota being announced as the starting quarterback for the upcoming game, while Article B describes Mariota getting injured during the actual game.”
Toronto Star
Hedges 3 of 43 claims Outlet record 64/100
New York Post
Hedges 1 of 10 claims Outlet record 66/100
Toronto Star
Hedges 0 of 12 claims Outlet record 64/100
“Article A describes Marcus Mariota starting as quarterback for an upcoming game against the Colts, while Article B reports that Mariota was injured during the actual game and did not play.”
Toronto Star
Hedges 0 of 26 claims Outlet record 64/100
New York Post
Hedges 1 of 14 claims Outlet record 66/100
“The articles describe different stages of Jayden Daniels' recovery and Marcus Mariota's start in his place, not the same specific incident.”
New York Post
Hedges 0 of 18 claims Outlet record 66/100
“While both articles mention Jayden Daniels' elbow injury, they describe different aspects of his situation—Article A discusses avoiding immediate surgery and playing through the season, while Article B announces he is ruled out for an upcoming game despite returning to practice.”
Fox News
Hedges 0 of 12 claims Outlet record 69/100
“Article A reports on Marcus Mariota starting as quarterback due to Jayden Daniels' injury before a game against the Colts in London. Article B describes Mariota getting injured during the same game, which is a different specific incident.”
Evening Standard
Hedges 1 of 12 claims Outlet record 65/100
“Article A reports on Marcus Mariota being named to start in place of Jayden Daniels before the game, while Article B discusses the results and performance of the previous game where Mariota started due to Daniels' injury.”
New York Post
Hedges 0 of 23 claims Outlet record 66/100
“The articles discuss different times and preparations: Article A is about Marcus Mariota starting due to Jayden Daniels being ruled out for a game, while Article B discusses the Giants preparing for possibly facing Daniels in an upcoming game.”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
22
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
0%
0 of 22 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
64/100
Toronto Star's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
11
Sports
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-10-02 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

Toronto Star · 10939 article(s) · 28 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 28 correction(s)
2026-10-26
Correction
2026-10-24
Correction
2026-10-07
Correction
2026-09-24
Correction

Who wrote this

Ken Maguire
16 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 The Saints came under pressure after a 1-4 start when team owner Gayle Benson she would “not accept this level of performance.”
🔮 The Saints-Steelers game could nudge the sport forward as well as shine a light on the Musketeers, who bill themselves as France’s first fully professional American football team.
🔮 The New Orleans Saints will play the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday at Stade de France in the league’s first-ever regular-season game in France.
🔮 The Steelers coach was asked about how that familiarity might factor into plans for Sunday.
🔮 “As a precautionary measure, the Steelers designated bar that had been planned in Bastille — an area that has experienced recent disruptions — will not proceed,” the team’s statement added.
🔮 I couldn’t even tell you what I’ve tried.
🔮 It might have gone one better this time.
🔮 Marcus Mariota lasted just two drives in his second straight start in place of Jayden Daniels, who dislocated his left elbow in Week 2 against Dallas but might be back soon.
🔮 WATFORD, England (AP) — Commanders quarterback Marcus Mariota will get his second straight start in place of the injured Jayden Daniels on Sunday when Washington faces the Indianapolis Colts at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
🔮 Kansas’ best early drive ended with a Yasin Willis fumble early in the second quarter.
Also by Ken Maguire
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 16 articles by Ken Maguire →

Topics

Commanders England WATFORD Washington the Indianapolis Colts

Subjects

Daniels PERSON · 5× Quinn PERSON · 4× Commanders ORG · 2× Dan Quinn PERSON · 1× England GPE · 1× Jayden Daniels PERSON · 1× Marcus Mariota PERSON · 1× WATFORD GPE · 1× Washington GPE · 1× the Indianapolis Colts ORG · 1×

Narrative

WATFORD, England (AP) — Commanders quarterback Marcus Mariota will get his second straight start in place of the injured Jayden Daniels on Sunday when Washington faces the Indianapolis Colts at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-02
🔮 WATFORD, England (AP) — Commanders quarterback Marcus Mariota will get his second straight start in place of the injured Jayden Daniels on Sunday when Washington faces the Indianapolis Colts at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Claims (22 extracted, 0 hedged)

WATFORD, England (AP) — Commanders quarterback Marcus Mariota will get his second straight start in place of the injured Jayden Daniels on Sunday when Washington faces the Indianapolis Colts at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. asserted
Washington → get → Stadium
Head coach Dan Quinn announced his decision Friday after practice at the team’s luxury hotel accommodations outside London. asserted
Quinn → announce → London
Daniels returned to practice this week after dislocating his elbow in Week 2 against the Dallas Cowboys. asserted
Daniels → return → Cowboys
He’s been wearing a protective brace and expressed no concerns about further damage. asserted
He → wear → damage
“He had a great week. asserted
He → have → week
It was awesome to have him back on the field in a limited fashion,” Quinn said. asserted
Quinn → have → fashion
Marcus will start.” asserted
Marcus → start → ?
Quinn called Daniels’ return to practice “a huge positive step for us and for him.” asserted
Quinn → call → him
“We’ll assess where we are next week when we get to a full week of practice all the way through,” the coach said. asserted
coach → assess → practice
It’s the second elbow dislocation for Daniels, who missed most of the second half of last season with the same injury. asserted
who → ’ → injury
The third-year quarterback, who led the Commanders to the NFC championship game in his rookie season, had said Thursday he was preparing mentally to start against the Colts and wasn’t worried about re-injuring the elbow. asserted
he → lead → elbow
“That’s what the brace is for,” Daniels said. asserted
Daniels → ’ → what
The Commanders host the New York Giants on Sunday, Oct. 11. asserted
Commanders → host → Sunday
The team has a bye in Week 7. asserted
team → have → Week
“Certainly, anytime you can practice, that’s a big deal,” Quinn said. asserted
Quinn → practice → ?
“So for him to get back, that was a big step for us. asserted
that → get → us
Typical for him, he’s more ready than you’d expect. asserted
you → ’ → him
That’s just kind of how he is.” asserted
he → ’ → ?
Quinn was asked what he needs to see to put Daniels back on the field. asserted
he → ask → field
“It’s really just like an entire group medical performance. asserted
It → ’ → performance
Where he’s at, the practice part was a big piece of that today. asserted
part → ’ → that
But next week we’re planning on for him to get a full week of practice. asserted
him → plan → practice
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