Dan Quinn didn’t hide from the mess at the end of Sunday’s 27-27 tie with the Giants. He owned it.
After the Commanders let a chance at a game-winning field goal slip away in overtime, Quinn said the final sequence was his fault and his alone. Washington had the ball at the New York 24-yard-line after Giants running back Cam Skattebo fumbled on the first play after the two-minute warning, setting up what should have been a straightforward finish.
Instead, the Commanders burned through the clock. Rather than spiking the ball with around 12 seconds remaining, Washington ran a play that ended with quarterback Jayden Daniels killing a few seconds before going down for no gain. The offense did not get back to the line quickly enough to spike it, and it was unclear whether it would have been able to get the snap off in time anyway.
Quinn said after the game that he felt “gutted” for his players and that the tie “feels like a loss” because of the chances the team let get away during the afternoon.
Still, he was firm about where the blame belonged.
“It’s my responsibility and no one else’s,” Quinn said, making clear that the late-game sequencing should not be placed on Daniels. “The sequencing of that does not fall on him,” Quinn said.
“It’s an outside throw or a clock, out of bounds throw or a clock. That has to come from me. . . .
We can finish the kick earlier, we don’t need to gain more yards. That’s on me.”
The mistakes at the end have already drawn attention from one of the team’s owners. If that reaction matches how others inside the organization feel, Quinn’s future in Washington could come under scrutiny.
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