Washington Commanders head coach Dan Quinn entered the season on the hot seat.
Following Sunday’s 27-27 tie with the New York Giants, Quinn might feel his seat becoming even hotter as Washington enters Week 6 with a 1-3-1 record.
The Commanders had a 27-13 advantage in the fourth quarter before Washington allowed the Giants and backup quarterback Jameis Winston to tie the game up at 27-27 before the end of regulation. In overtime, New York missed a field goal attempt, and Cam Skattebo lost a fumble at the Washington 24-yard line following a three-and-out punt by the Commanders offense.
On their second offensive drive of overtime, quarterback Jayden Daniels made an inexplicable decision to try and scramble on second down from the Giants 24-yard line with 13 seconds remaining. Instead of throwing the ball away, Daniels was sacked. With no timeouts left for the Commanders, the clock expired before Washington could snap the ball again, and the game ended in a 27-27 tie.
Following the game, Commanders minority owner Earvin “Magic” Johnson questioned the clock management in overtime, arguing Quinn’s staff should have settled for a field goal attempt to win the game instead of taking a risk to move the ball closer or score a touchdown.
“I’m in total disbelief my Commanders had such poor clock management in today’s overtime game against the Giants,” Johnson posted on X. “All we had to do was kick the field goal and we would have won the game!”
The key problem for Quinn’s staff in running any type of offensive play was the Commanders had no more timeouts.
Washington kicker Drew Stevens still would have needed to make the field goal to win the game, but at least the Commanders would have had a shot. Instead, Washington blew an opportunity to tie the Philadelphia Eagles and Dallas Cowboys for second place in the NFC East and steal a game from the Giants, who now lead the division with a 3-1-1 record.
The Commanders’ brass took notice of a poor coaching decision on Sunday. Quinn will be feeling more heat before Washington travels to play the San Francisco 49ers on “Monday Night Football” in Week 6.
Following their contest against the 49ers, the Commanders will have a bye in Week 7. Washington could have a decision to make with Quinn if it enters the bye with a 1-4-1 record.
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