Commanders, Marcus Mariota struggle in Monday night loss to Kansas City

Sacked twice and intercepted twice, Marcus Mariota threw one touchdown in an emergency start in Kansas City as the Commanders fell to the Chiefs 28-7 on Monday Night Football.

He was outdueled by KC quarterback and three-time Super Bowl Champion Patrick Mahomes, who threw for 299 yards and three touchdowns as his team claimed a share of second place in the AFC West at 5-3, a game behind Bo Nix and the Broncos.

The Commanders fell to 3-4, playing without starting quarterback Jayden Daniels, who is out with a strained hamstring.

Mariota completed 21-30 passes for 213 yards. He also led the team in rushing with 8 carries for 28 yards, his running backs ineffective.

At Oregon the 6-4 dual threat from Honolulu, Hawaii won the Heisman Trophy in 2014, taking the Ducks all the way to the National Championship Game. In college he was 36-5 as a starter, the all-time program leader in passing yards, quarterback wins and touchdowns, 42 in his Heisman-winning season as a redshirt junior.

He once set a PAC-12 record throwing 353 consecutive passes without an interception, only 14 in his career against 105 touchdown passes, a brilliant open-field runner who piled up 2,237 yards and 29 touchdowns on the ground.

In 2014 he won the Heisman, the Davey O'Brien Award, the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm, the Walter Camp Trophy, the Maxwell Award, the Rose Bowl MVP and the Polynesian Player of the Year. In 2016 the school named the Marcus Mariota Sports Performance Center after him, easily a face on the Oregon Mount Rushmore along with Sabrina Ionescu, Steve Prefontaine and Phil Knight.

Picked No. 2 overall in the first round by the Titans in the 2015 NFL draft, Mariota has earned $83 million in his 11-year NFL career. He started at Tennessee for his first three seasons, since serving primarily as a backup for Las Vegas, Atlanta and Washington.

He married college sweetheart Kiyomi Cook in July 2021 and they have a four-year-old daughter.