The Washington Commanders did not lose on Sunday, but what they did is the kind of stuff that helps get a head coach fired. It’s the kind of stuff that turns the fanbase against a beliked, but not beloved quarterback.
What the Commanders did was more offensive to fans than the franchise could convince most people their former Redskins nickname ever was.
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The Commanders tied the New York Giants. They replaced a likely victory with the NFL’s dumbest move of Week 5, and that’s saying something because there were a good number of candidates in the rankings for dumb moves.
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Washington Commanders head coach Dan Quinn reacts after the game against the New York Giants at Northwest Stadium in Landover, Md., on Oct. 11, 2026. (IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect)
When it was over, coach Dan Quinn told reporters, “I’m gutted for our team.”
That’s like the guy holding the filleting knife saying he felt gutted for the fish.
So what happened?
After blowing a 14-point fourth quarter lead, the Commanders found themselves in overtime on the Giants’ 26-yard line with 55 seconds to play. All they had to do at that point was kick a field goal and figure out how to celebrate.
But, they instead ran the football. And then lined up with 22 seconds left to seemingly throw a pass on another play.
Except they had no timeouts remaining and quarterback Jayden Daniels clearly did not know it.
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Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels stands after the game against the New York Giants at Northwest Stadium in Landover, Md., on Oct. 11, 2026. (IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect)
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So the Commanders gained two yards on a Daniels scramble, when he should have instead thrown the ball to Jupiter to stop the clock.
Daniels also could have scurried to his feet and spiked the ball because there were seven seconds remaining when he was tackled. But he stayed on the ground looking around for a beat or two, as if waiting for new orders from headquarters.
The Commanders could not line up and spike the ball before time ran out. They never attempted the field goal they should have tried 55 seconds earlier.
Tie game.
“Leaving tonight with a tie feels like a loss,” Quinn said. “And the last sequence, we throw it out of bounds, we clock it, you give yourself a chance to kick it. And we pride ourselves on those moments at the end of the game.
“And after the first down run, still trying to gain more for the kick. The right call is, honestly, like we can go clock it early and don’t put ourselves in that spot and that is my responsibility. Nobody else’s. I’m gutted for our team.”
Washington Commanders head coach Dan Quinn is on the sidelines before the start of an NFL football game against the Seattle Seahawks in Landover, Maryland, on Nov. 2, 2025. (Nick Wass/AP Photo)
Quinn looked distraught immediately following the game as he simply stood at the 25-yard line. Alone. Looking at nothing in particular. Doing nothing in particular.
Just … numb.
It is unclear if Washington coaches themselves were aware of their timeout situation. If they knew, it is unclear whether they communicated the situation to Daniels.
Whatever the case, Daniels seemed completely unaware of the timeout situation, as he just lay there on the ground, the clock and a chance for victory ticking away.
“Yeah, like the sequencing of that does not fall on him,” Quinn said.
It surely fell on him as he was just on the ground waiting for somebody to tell him to get up. Removing the responsibility from Daniels shows the coach doesn’t trust his quarterback to literally know what time it is.
Anyone think Joe Montana, Peyton Manning, Tom Brady or any high school quarterback with the slightest awareness would be this oblivious?
“We just have to be better,” Daniels said afterward. “We all have to be better. Situational football. Starts with me. Everybody will say the same thing, but we have to be better at situational football.”
Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels (5) celebrates his touchdown during the first half of an NFL football game against Seattle Seahawks, Sunday, Nov. 2, 2025, in Landover, Maryland. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
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Daniels was aware in the preseason of what LSU was doing with the No. 5 jersey this year, but he wasn’t aware what to do in the final 55 seconds of this game.
“We have to stop the clock,” Daniels said. “We have to know the situation. We have to relay that as an offense. It starts with everyone, top down. Ultimately, it’s on me.”
It is on Quinn, whose team is 1-3-1 instead of 2-3. It is on the offensive coaches, who didn’t seem to make Daniels sufficiently aware of his situation. It is on Daniels, who needs a stopwatch tucked into his uniform.
And, perhaps, it’s on a football team that didn’t know the rules governing overtime.
Maybe the nickname change was a blessing. Because this embarrassment won’t go down in Redskins lore.
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