The Washington Commanders won for the first time since Week 3, but head coach Dan Quinn “hated” a lot of what he saw from his team, especially on offense.
What Quinn saw was the Commanders steadily wear down the injury-ravaged Philadelphia Eagles during a 27-10 victory in Week 8. It wasn’t enough to please under-pressure Quinn, who name-dropped a host of problems after the game on Sunday Night Football.
Speaking to reporters late on November 1, Quinn criticized the way his team’s offense and scoring departments started at Northwest Stadium. The 56-year-old admitted he “hated the penalties, there was a drop, there was a fumble, there was a missed field goal,” per Commanders.com Senior Writer Zach Selby.
Quinn did “love” some aspects of the performance. Notably, his players’ “resolve” and the way the defensive line rushed better in coordination with one another.”
Ultimately though, Quinn was blunt about how quarterback Jayden Daniels and the offense “need to turn some of those field goals into touchdowns.” Daniels agreed when he called the start “complete BS,” per Nicki Jhabvala of The Athletic.
Those messages chime with Quinn’s overall take about how “Tonight, we got three (quarters). We need all four,” per The Washington Post’s Tashan Reed.
It’s surprising a coach whose future’s under as much scrutiny as Quinn’s wasn’t happier after a much-needed win. The Commanders’ first victory since toppling the defending Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks on September 27 was always going to come the hard and ugly way.
Quinn’s irritation reveals he’s been feeling the pressure. It also shows he’s acutely aware the Commanders, for all their problems this season, are still very much alive in a weak NFC East.
There’s an opportunity Quinn won’t want his team to waste by continuing to make things as tough as they did against the depleted Eagles.
Dan Quinn Demands More Efficiency on Offense
Quinn’s critique of the offense was a reasonable one after the unit had to settle for five field-goal attempts. Rookie Drew Stevens converted four of them, but Daniels and Co. were far from efficient in the red zone.
Some struggles are understandable when his offensive line is missing key players. Daniels was also without his go-to target, five-time 1,000-yard wide receiver Terry McLaurin.
The Commanders even dealt with key absences in the running game. Lead back Jacory Croskey-Merritt remained on injured reserve with a groin problem, so the Commanders turned to a returning veteran playmaker who has Daniels’ trust.
This switch gradually paid dividends, but personnel wasn’t the biggest problem for Washington’s offense. Instead, penalties and basic errors doomed too many drives.
The Commanders were flagged nine times for 70 yards, per ESPN. Much of the cloth thrown by officials was in response to pre-snap penalties by Daniels’ offense.
This combination of procedural infractions and elementary mistakes killed the Commanders’ first two drives, and Jhabvala showed how: “Treylon Burks, wide open on 1st-&-10, falls on his route Jayden Daniels – false start Sam Cosmi – false start Daniels misses Stefon Diggs on a quick out Burks drops short pass on 3rd-and-3.”
Treylon Burks, wide open on 1st-&-10, falls on his route Jayden Daniels – false start Sam Cosmi – false start Daniels misses Stefon Diggs on a quick out Burks drops short pass on 3rd-and-3
Things got worse when tight end Chig Okonkwo wasted what was Daniels’ best throw of the night up to that point. Washington’s QB1 hit his receiver in stride, only for Okonkwo to fail to properly secure the football.
The resulting hit forced a fumble the Eagles recovered and turned into their lone touchdown. A three-yard run by Saquon Barkley.
PHIvsWAS on NBC/Peacock Stream on @NFLPlus
Eventually, the Commanders found the end zone twice behind some clutch play from Daniels and tough running out of a reshuffled backfield. Those things can keep Quinn’s team alive in the division.
Commanders Still a Factor in Weak NFC East
The weakest division in the NFL still being wide open isn’t lost on Quinn’s players. Okonkwo acknowledged as much when he called the game against the Eagles a “must-win” because of “the state of the division. Arizona got us one today, so that’s really good,” per Last Man Stadig writer and host Ben Standig.
Okonkwo’s reference to the Arizona Cardinals upsetting the Dallas Cowboys 33-30 in overtime is telling. The result not only dropped the Cowboys to 3-5 in the standings.
It also gave the Commanders hope they can still make a dent in the playoff race. Quinn’s team has played one game less than everybody else in the division, so there’s still a chance the Commanders can catch the 4-2-1 New York Giants.
Provided they clean up some of the things Quinn “hated” seeing against the Eagles.
Dan Quinn Reveals Why He ‘Hated’ Commanders Beating Eagles