The Commanders kept rolling without Jayden Daniels in Week 3, and Dan Quinn liked the way it happened.
Washington’s 33-31 win over the Seahawks came with David Blough handling the offense, and Quinn said the performance was “consistent” while praising the way the team stayed balanced. The run game mattered, the clock was managed well late, and the Commanders finished the job with two third-down conversions that helped seal it.
“I thought one thing that was consistent, that was good, I thought he really stuck with the run,” Quinn said, via CommandersWire. “And if we’re gonna be a complementary team, that’s not an easy group to do it against, especially with the interior of their group.
So, staying in that, I thought it was a big deal. And then at the end, I thought that was when David and Marcus really had their space to go.
Here’s a two-minute that, they really managed it well in terms of how we use the clock, get to the third downs, and then converting those two third downs, that was it. But in that space, I felt like that’s when, like, David and Marcus, you knew kind of what calls to expect almost based on where they’re at.”
In Philadelphia, Nick Sirianni still isn’t locking in a backup quarterback answer. After a costly interception in the end zone, Sirianni said he remains confident in the room and in Andy Dalton, even if the turnover stung.
“ You know, I have a lot of faith in both of those guys, ” Sirianni said, via PFT. “ Obviously, what happened in the game, we don’t want turnovers by anybody. . . .
We can’t turn the ball over. We did in that situation, and we lost points because of it.
But I still have faith in Tanner, in Andy, in how [rookie] Cole [Payton] is developing. I still have faith in that room.”
Elsewhere in the NFC, a report on SNY’s NYG411 pointed to tension around J.J. McCarthy’s time with the Vikings. Connor Hughes said he heard rumblings that McCarthy was unhappy with the way Sam Darnold played after McCarthy went down as a rookie in 2024, and that some “jealousy” surfaced in a way that reminded him of the Carson Wentz and Nick Foles situation in Philadelphia.
“I had heard rumblings, a lot of this, that when Sam Darnold had the season that he did after J.J. McCarthy went down, that didn’t sit particularly well with J.J. because J.J. was shaping up to be the Vikings’ starting quarterback as a rookie,” Hughes said.
“He had shown promise his first year, there were moments that looked good and then when he got hurt and was missing the season, and Sam took over, it wasn’t necessarily like, ‘I believe in Sam. Let’s go Sam.
Let’s go get it.’ It kind of reminded me a little bit of the Carson Wentz / Nick Foles situation in Philadelphia where there was some jealousy and that jealousy rubbed off on some teammates.”
Hughes added that things reportedly worsened once Minnesota moved on from Darnold and handed the job back to McCarthy, only for the offense not to immediately match what Darnold had done.
“When the Vikings decided to let Sam walk and roll with J.J. and it didn’t just immediately pick up where they left off with Sam, I think that started to deteriorate. J.J.’s a little bit of an eccentric person. He has rubbed people the wrong way at times because he’s a little unique and interested in different things,” Hughes said.
In Other News...
Commanders Quarterback Crisis May Force A Familiar Fix
Marcus Mariotas MCL injury has pushed the Commanders deeper into a quarterback bind, with Dan Quinn still waiting on further tests to get a clearer read on how long the veteran might be sidelined. Washington is already working through the recovery of Jayden Daniels, who is coming back from a dislocated elbow, leaving the staff to sort through an increasingly thin room at the games most important position.
Jeff Driskel is one familiar name under consideration as the Commanders evaluate temporary options, and his previous stint with the organization gives the idea some practical appeal. For a team trying to keep the season steady while the injuries stack up, the next move at quarterback could be less about upside than it is about survival. [Read more 🡒]
Commanders Suddenly Have A Quarterback Question They Didn't Expect
The Commanders went into Week 4 expecting one storyline at quarterback and came out with another. Marcus Mariota is headed for some missed time with a knee injury, while Jayden Daniels is set to return despite an elbow issue, leaving Washington to sort through a depth chart that suddenly looks far less settled than it did a week ago.
Athan Kaliakmanis got the first real crack at the offense in Mariotas place and at least gave the Commanders a glimpse of what he can do, tossing a touchdown pass before the loss. For a team trying to stay afloat in the middle of an unpredictable early season, the bigger question now is not just who starts next, but how the Commanders manage a quarterback room that was supposed to be stable and is anything but. [Read more 🡒]
Commanders Fans Have Every Reason To Be Furious After London Loss
The loss in London was made even harder for Commanders fans to stomach because the penalty count told its own story. Washington was flagged 10 times for 84 yards, while Indianapolis drew only one penalty for five yards, and several of the calls against Washington came at moments when the game was hanging in the balance. With the offense already trying to survive with a third-string quarterback, every miscue and every yellow flag seemed to chip away at any chance to find a rhythm.
For a team already dealing with injuries and a brutal stretch of the schedule, the frustration is easy to understand. The Commanders did not just lose on the scoreboard, they also left with a sense that the flow of the game kept tilting away from them at the worst possible times. For fans who have watched the season get harder by the week, a penalty-filled defeat overseas only added to the sense that nothing is coming easy right now. [Read more 🡒]