Washington Commanders offensive coordinator David Blough did not try to dodge the fallout from last Sunday’s 27-27 tie with the New York Giants.
Blough, a first-year NFL offensive coordinator, was pressed repeatedly Friday about the final sequence, when Washington came away without the field goal attempt that could have won the game as time expired. He made it clear again and again that the responsibility landed with him because he is the last voice reaching the quarterback.
“I’m the one with the last line of communication to the QB; it falls on me…I’m the leader of the unit so you can put that on me,” was how Blough put it in one form or another several times. On another answer, he said, “We have high expectations as a group, as it pertains to communication and excellence, and I’m the leader of the unit.”
He also said, “You know, I look back; I have thought of about a thousand different ways you could handle it. And you know, it starts with me to put our offense in a position to be successful.”
What came through in the session was a coach who believes he had a real hand in what went wrong, and one who was willing to own that part of it. He acknowledged that he could have communicated better with Jayden Daniels during the final drive.
At the same time, Blough did not hand the media the detailed breakdown it seemed to be looking for. He took the blame, but he stayed broad when it came to specifics, offering little beyond the general outline of what went wrong.
That restraint stood out. Blough was clearly aware it was a big day and that he was about to face a heavy round of questions, but he handled it with a calm that kept him from saying too much.
The broader picture is that Dan Quinn, Blough and Daniels have all accepted some share of the responsibility for the ending against the Giants. What hasn’t come with that, at least not publicly, are the kinds of details outsiders may want most.
Still, the message from Blough was straightforward: he sees himself as accountable for the command issues at the end of the game, and he was willing to say so without turning Friday into a full breakdown of every mistake.
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