Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels is finished talking about his team’s late-game mismanagement in a heartbreaking overtime tie against the New York Giants in Week 5, but he did share a couple parting shots before commencing radio silence.
Daniels spoke with reporters on Thursday, October 15 and addressed his mistake, offering a five-word pledge to his organization, teammates and fans.
“It will never happen again,” Daniels said, per John Keim of ESPN.
The quarterback also addressed his critics directly, though not in an antagonistic tone or as part of any attempt to dodge responsibility for how things went down. In fact, Daniels’ comments were precisely the opposite.
“I’m moving on to San Francisco,” Daniels continued Thursday. “Can’t say [the criticism] is not warranted. … Can’t stop no one from saying their opinion about my process.”
Jayden Daniels Had Excellent Game Against Giants, Save for Final Play
The most unfortunate outcome of Washington’s clock mismanagement last weekend, beyond the game finishing in a tie rather than a win for the Commanders, is how it has overshadowed what was otherwise a pretty remarkable performance from Daniels after he returned from a dislocated elbow.
Daniels suffered that injury to his non-throwing arm in Week 2 against the Dallas Cowboys. He missed two games but opted against surgery and returned in Week 5 with a bulky brace on his left elbow. The quarterback proceeded to complete 17-of-25 passes for 199 yards while also rushing the football nine times for 103 yards and two TDs.
But the tie remains the story and looms large as the Commanders (1-3-1) head west to the Bay Area for a showdown with the undefeated 49ers (5-0). San Francisco is favored by 7.5 points at home as of Thursday afternoon, per DraftKings Sportsbook.
Commanders Head Coach Dan Quinn May Lose Job by Season’s End, Possibly Sooner
As bad as things have been for Daniels over the past several days, they are even worse for his head coach Dan Quinn.
Quinn also bears responsibility for how Week 5 ended, which he has admitted in full in every interview he’s done since. However, while Daniels remains the team’s franchise QB, Quinn is now firmly on the hot seat in Washington.
Bill Barnwell of ESPN wrote the case for, and against, Quinn on Thursday.
Quinn’s team is now 3-13-1 over its past 17 games, with one of those victories coming against the Eagles backups in Week 18. Any attempt to draw a line under 2025 as an aberration hasn’t been successful, given that the defense has continued to struggle and Daniels has already suffered another elbow injury in 2026.
I thought calls to fire Quinn for the endgame on Sunday were too harsh, but there’s no denying that this is the sort of disaster that lingers in fans’ minds.
If Quinn can’t turn things around, there’s the risk of this becoming the sort of tenure-defining collapse that Quinn was on the other side of when the Hail Mary past Tyrique Stevenson Sr. in 2024 was the beginning of the end for Matt Eberflus in Chicago.
Commanders’ Jayden Daniels Issues 5-Word Guarantee After OT Gaffe, Responds to Critics