The Commanders spent the first part of Sunday night digging themselves into a hole, then spent the rest of the game showing exactly what Dan Quinn wants this team to look like.
Washington fell behind 10-0 at home against the Philadelphia Eagles and looked stuck in neutral early, with penalties and stalled drives threatening to take over the night. But the Commanders flipped the script and ripped off 27 unanswered points, turning a rough opening into a win that changed the feel of the game entirely.
Afterward, Quinn told reporters he wanted to see four quarters of good football, and said his team gave him three. That slow start, he said, tied back to the pre-snap penalties the Commanders have been working to clean up all season. There has also been talk about simplifying the offense, and as the game went on, the flags eased up and Jayden Daniels started to settle in.
Daniels didn’t sugarcoat the beginning. He told reporters the start to the game was BS and said he spoke to the team on the sideline after a string of early penalties, including one on him, kept killing drives. After that, he noticed the Commanders getting in and out of the huddle faster, and he said that helped the offense run smoother.
The quarterback’s poise was part of the story, but so was the way Washington responded around him. Daniels and Antonio Williams both talked about Terry McLaurin, who had knee surgery this week.
Williams said they wanted to put a smile on McLaurin’s face as he watched from home while recovering. With McLaurin out, Williams is seeing more snaps and said he’s ready to take on a bigger role in the offense.
He also gave Stefon Diggs his due, calling him a leader in the locker room.
The postgame conversation also touched on the bigger picture around the roster, including the need to keep building momentum and the importance of playing with urgency from the opening snap. Quinn’s message about four quarters still hung over the night, but the Commanders’ second-half response gave the game a very different finish than the one it looked headed for early on.
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