Did Jayden Daniels know the game was over when overtime hit zero?
That’s the question hanging over the Giants-Commanders clock-management mess, because once the blame starts flying around, it gets hard to tell who actually made the crucial mistake.
Dan Quinn has already owned it. Jayden Daniels has, too.
And David Blough, the offensive coordinator, will likely have his turn when he next gets in front of reporters. But the key detail may not be just what happened on the final snap - it may be what the Commanders actually understood in that moment.
On Tuesday’s edition of PFT Live, Chris Simms raised the possibility that Daniels may have been instructed to throw the ball away on the last play Washington ran. If he had done that, the clock would have stopped, and the Commanders would have had a shot at a game-winning field goal.
Simms also pointed out that, if that was the real chain of events, the internal review should eventually point in that direction. He added that the whole situation would have been easier to untangle if the Commanders had recorded and kept all in-game communications.
There’s another angle, though, and it’s not as far-fetched as it sounds. In 2008, the Eagles and Bengals finished 13-13, and Donovan McNabb later admitted he didn’t realize a regular-season game could end in a tie.
He wasn’t the only one in that locker room who didn’t know the rule. McNabb, then in his 10th NFL season, put it plainly: “In college, there are multiple overtimes, and in high school and Pop Warner.
I never knew in the professional ranks it would end that way. I hate to see what would happen in the Super Bowl and in the playoffs.”
So is it possible something similar happened here? Could Daniels have lacked urgency at the end because he thought the Commanders would get another possession once the first overtime period expired?
The Eagles’ confusion in 2008 is a reminder that even veteran players can miss something that seems basic. That overtime format had already been in place for 34 years, and still several players didn’t grasp it. Which is why it’s fair to wonder whether Daniels - and maybe others in the Commanders’ huddle - understood the clock would end the game.
It’s also fair to ask the same about Blough. McNabb was the same age then as Blough is now, and if Washington is going to sort this out cleanly, that question needs to be asked directly.
Giants safety Jevon Holland’s postgame comments only add to the uncertainty. He said: “I mean, even when the clock ran to zero, there was a second where I was like, ‘ Is it going to go to the second overtime?
’ I don’t know if it was two overtimes or not. I’ve never been in an overtime tie like this.”
That’s why the possibility can’t just be brushed aside. Did Daniels, and maybe others on offense, think the teams would switch sides and keep playing once the clock reached zero? In a situation this messy, that’s not a ridiculous question at all.
In Other News...
49ers Face A New Monday Night Problem Against Washington
Washington heads into its Week 6 Monday Night Football matchup with San Francisco knowing the stage will be bigger than the setting. The Commanders have been sorting through defensive assignments and trying to get more consistency from Carson Daniels, whose recent play has shown both the promise and the growing pains that come with a young quarterback trying to steady an offense.
The attention only sharpens because of what the 49ers bring to the table, even with one of their most important playmakers unavailable. Washingtons defense will still have to deal with a veteran group that can stress a game in different ways, while Daniels comes in off a performance that showed how much he can add with his legs even as the passing game continues to search for a cleaner rhythm. The matchup leaves both sides with obvious questions, but for Washington, the bigger one is whether it can turn that pressure into a statement win on a national stage. [Read more 🡒]
Commanders Still Sent A Frustrating Backfield Message After Jacory Croskey-Merritts Breakout
Jacory Croskey-Merritt gave Washington a needed spark in Week 5 against the Giants, flashing the kind of burst the backfield has been missing. The rookie ran hard, found the end zone and looked like a runner who could force his way into a bigger slice of the offense, especially after a stretch in which the ground game has been searching for consistency.
Instead, the Commanders kept leaning on veteran Rachaad White in the moments that mattered, a decision that reinforced the staff's preference for experience over upside. White was still handling the more important work despite a recent shoulder injury, and Croskey-Merritt now has to turn one strong outing into something more before the snap distribution changes in his favor. [Read more 🡒]
Micah Parsons Just Put A Young QB Under The NFL Spotlight
Micah Parsons made sure Jayden Daniels rough finish in Week 5 lingered well beyond Washingtons tie with the Giants. The Commanders quarterback was under the spotlight after failing to manage the clock in a key late-game moment, and Parsons used the miscue to question Daniels awareness in a situation where every second mattered.
Now Washington is moving on to a Week 6 matchup with the 49ers, but the conversation around Daniels has hardly faded. For a young quarterback, these are the kinds of lessons the league tends to deliver loudly, and the Commanders will be watching closely to see whether the lapse becomes a one-off mistake or the kind of detail that follows a quarterback into bigger moments. [Read more 🡒]