The Commanders opened their 2026 preseason with a 20-7 win over the Miami Dolphins on Friday night, and the result was driven mostly by a defense that came out swinging after allowing a touchdown on Miami’s first drive.
Washington’s defense settled in fast and took over from there, finishing with three interceptions, five passes defensed, two tackles for a loss, and just 226 total yards allowed. On offense, the Commanders were supposed to lean on Marcus Mariota with Jayden Daniels out, but Mariota exited early with an apparent knee injury. Athan Kaliakmanis and Sam Hartman stepped in after that.
After the game, Dan Quinn talked about the first outing for his two new coordinators, David Blough and Daronte Jones, and he liked what he saw.
“I felt both guys felt really prepared going into it in terms of what it looks like,” Quinn said. “There’ll be things to communicate differently- headsets, how does it go?
But both of them really felt in control. I was listening a lot tonight just to see how the communication goes.
Calls, how in on time and packages. It actually can be difficult in the preseason because you’re not game planning and, ‘Okay, this is what I wanna feature on this third down.
This is what they like to do.’ I thought both guys, I’d give them high remarks for starting us off.
Good collaboration from the coaches too.”
The Commanders moved on from Joe Whitt and Kliff Kingsbury after last season’s disastrous outcome, bringing in Jones and Blough along with other new staff changes. Quinn has plenty on the line this year, and while he isn’t on the hot seat yet, that can change quickly if the season goes sideways and the team stays healthy. For now, though, his new coordinators gave him a clean first look.
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