Washington Commanders head coach Dan Quinn revealed what his inner thoughts were during the team’s final play in their 27-27 tie in Week 5.
The Commanders were in field goal range with seconds remaining in overtime against the New York Giants, but instead of spiking the ball or throwing it away, Commanders QB Jayden Daniels ran the ball instead.
With the Commanders having no timeouts left, they were not able to get back to the line of scrimmage in time and get one final play in, which meant they ended up tying with New York instead of getting a chance to kick a chip-shot field goal as time expired.
It was a brutal way for Washington to end the game, as even though it wasn’t a loss, it sure felt like one, and Quinn has been getting calls to be fired on social media for the brutal clock management at the end of the game.
Dan Quinn Reacts to Finish in Commanders vs. Giants Game
Speaking to reporters after the Commanders’ Week 5 tie against the Giants, Quinn shared what his inner thoughts were during the final play of the game.
“Knowing that we don’t have timeouts, I’m wanting to just get the ball clocked, and so as the time’s going down, it’s not a good feeling knowing that this moment’s going to be slipping through our fingers,” Quinn said.
To Quinn’s credit, he took full blame for the mistake at the end of the game instead of blaming his QB, which shows leadership. But the fact of the matter is that this kind of brain fart is inexcusable at the NFL level of the game, and it could ultimately end up costing Quinn his job, as plenty of fans want to see him fired after the latest disappointing game played by the Commanders this season.
Will Dan Quinn Keep His Job?
Following the tie, the Commanders’ record this season dropped to 1-3-1, and they are currently in last place in the NFC East.
It has been a terrible start to the season for Washington, especially given that they don’t exactly play in a stacked division. Even with Daniels going down early in the season with an injury, the fact that the Commanders are in fourth place in their division after the first five weeks of the season can’t be seen as anything other than a massive failure.
Of course, there is tons of time left in the season, with 12 games remaining for Washington to change things up and turn the season around. But they can’t have these kinds of mental lapses that they had against the Giants, as this game was theirs to win, and they ended up tying instead.
While a tie is obviously better than a loss, it surely feels like a defeat to everyone in the Commanders’ locker room right now, just based on how deflating an ending to this game it was.
But now, the only thing that Washington can do is flush it and look ahead to their Week 6 date against the undefeated San Francisco 49ers.
Dan Quinn Reveals His Inner Thoughts During Final Play in Week 5