The Commanders pulled Jayden Daniels at halftime of Sunday’s 23-19 win over the Cowboys. The team didn’t report an injury, and with only seeding in the balance, it appeared it was a move to put the rookie quarterback in bubble wrap.

As it turned out, Daniels experienced some mild leg soreness, which prompted coach Dan Quinn to sit his quarterback.

“It wasn’t a plan going in,” Quinn said, via NBC4 Sports. “We thought we were going to go all the way, but he had some mild soreness in his leg. I just kind of made the decision honestly to say, ‘Let’s go with Marcus [Mariota].’ . . . I just thought that was the way to go going into the second half.”

Daniels finished 6-of-12 for 38 yards and took four sacks. He ran four times for 27 yards.

Daniels said he did not have the leg issue until Sunday.

“Just some leg soreness,” Daniels said. “At the end of the day, I respect the decision DQ and them make. Now I’m just [about] getting ready for next week.”

Mariota led a fourth quarter comeback, throwing a touchdown pass to Terry McLaurin with three seconds left as the Commanders secured the sixth seed.