Washington Commanders coach Dan Quinn said the overtime clock-management error that cost his team a win against the New York Giants on Sunday falls on him, not quarterback Jayden Daniels. The Commanders ran out of time and timeouts in overtime, settling for a 27-27 tie instead of attempting a potential game-winning field goal.
“It falls on me,” Quinn said after the game, according to CBS Sports. “At the end, I can make life easy there. We didn’t need to gain more yards.”
Dan Quinn Explains The Botched Final Play
Daniels was tackled for no gain with eight seconds left in overtime and no timeouts remaining, leaving the Commanders unable to stop the clock before it expired. Washington had been in position for a field goal attempt of roughly 41 to 42 yards, a kick that would have given the team a chance to win rather than settle for a tie.
Quinn said the breakdown came from a scheme decision, not anything Daniels did wrong on the field. “The sequence of that does not fall on him. It’s an outside throw or a clock.
Those are the two, an out-of-bounds throw or a clock. That has to come from me. I don’t have to put him into that spot.
I can do that earlier. We can finish the kick earlier, we don’t need to gain more yards. So that’s on me,” Quinn said, according to Yahoo Sports.
Asked directly whether the sequence was an attempt to pick up extra yards rather than secure the clock, Quinn didn’t dodge it. “No, we’re just trying to gain more. We don’t need to.
Easy enough to say, ‘Hey man, let’s clock it right here. We’re early enough. Go get It,'” he said.
What It Means For Daniels And The Offense
Quinn’s comments separate his own accountability from Jayden Daniels’ reaction to the clock-management error, in which the quarterback also took ownership of the situation without placing blame on his coach. Daniels said after the game that the offense as a whole needs to handle those moments better, saying, “We have to stop the clock. We have to know the situation.
We have to relay that as an offense. It starts with everyone, top down. It’s on me.”
The two accounts align on the central fact: Washington’s staff did not communicate to Daniels to spike the ball, and the offense instead tried to pick up extra yardage before the clock ran out. Quinn said he hadn’t yet spoken with Daniels about the mistake when he addressed reporters.
Quinn did praise his quarterback’s performance in his first game back since dislocating his left elbow in Week 2, noting Daniels made “incredible plays” and showed why he’s unique as a player. Daniels finished three-for-three passing for 35 yards and added a 16-yard scramble in the contest.
Context: A 14-Point Lead Slips Away
Washington led by 14 points in the fourth quarter before the Giants rallied to force overtime. The Commanders forced a fumble at their own 24-yard line in overtime and drove into field goal range, setting up the sequence that ultimately expired. Kicker Drew Stevens had converted all seven of his career field goal attempts from inside 50 yards before Sunday’s game, a stat that underscores how close Washington came to a win.
Quinn called the outcome difficult to swallow regardless of the result on the scoreboard. “Leaving tonight with a tie feels like a loss,” he said, according to ESPN. “The last sequence, we throw it out of bounds, we clock it, you give yourself a chance to kick it.
We pride ourselves on those moments at the end of the game. After the first-down run, still trying to gain more for the kick. Right call is obviously we can go clock it early.
Don’t put ourselves in that spot, and that’s my responsibility, no one else’s.”
Receiver Terry McLaurin echoed that sentiment, and the frustration reached ownership as well. Commanders minority owner Magic Johnson posted on social media that he was in “total disbelief” about the clock management, writing, “All we had to do was kick the field goal and we would have won the game,” according to FOX Sports.
What’s Next
The tie dropped Washington to 1-3-1 and last place in the NFC East, a division where every team either lost or tied in a difficult week for the NFC East. The Giants improved to 3-1-1 and now sit atop the division. The Commanders travel to face the San Francisco 49ers in a Week 6 Monday night matchup.
More NFL news from Total Apex Sports.
For more on this story, see Total Apex Sports’ Washington Commanders coverage.
Don't stop here
Every Score. Every Story. One Home.
Breaking sports, entertainment and news from across the Total Apex network, updated all day.
Get the Full Story →
