The Commanders suffered yet more calamity on Monday Night Football – just a week after a shocking blunder cost Washington victory over the Giants.
Against New York, Jayden Daniels and Co needed only a field goal to secure an overtime victory. But the Commanders inexplicably let the clock tick to zero, meaning the game ended in a tie.
The incident sparked a furious reaction from head coach Dan Quinn and led to a serious inquest into what went wrong. There were even claims that Daniels could have cost his coach his job.
And Quinn’s future was called into question once more during Monday’s visit to the San Francisco 49ers.
Early in the second quarter at Levi’s Stadium, with the 49ers leading 13-3, the Commanders were deep in San Francisco territory when they decided to go for it on fourth-and-two.
Despite needing a first down to keep the drive going, Daniels simply threw the ball away and then smiled. Cameras soon cut to Quinn, who appeared to call for a field goal – seemingly unaware that his team had already squandered the fourth down.
Dan Quinn appeared to call for a field goal after his team had already squandered fourth down
Despite needing a first down to keep the drive going, Jayden Daniels threw the ball away
The Commanders head coach then failed to hide his shock when it dawned on him that his team had, in fact, turned over the ball.
‘Those are the situations that you just cannot have on a football team,’ ex-NFL star Jason McCourty said on ESPN. His views were echoed by retired quarterback Dan Orlovsky, who said: ‘I’m a Dan Quinn guy but you have to get the operation better, boys.’
The clip quickly went viral, with one fan claiming: ‘This is a fireable offense!’ Another fan added, ‘You can’t make this stuff up,’ while a third said: ‘There has never been a more fired coach.’
After the game, however, Quinn insisted he ‘definitely knew it was fourth down.’ Instead, the confusion – he suggested – was down to a flag on the field. Commanders running back Rachaad White was penalized for an illegal shift but that was declined, meaning it was a turnover on downs.
The Commanders were 20-3 down after a brutal first half that also saw wide receiver Terry McLaurin carted off the field after an injury to his left knee.
McLaurin was running a pattern in the first quarter Monday night against the San Francisco 49ers when he went down with the injury. His knee appeared to buckle as he tried to get free from cornerback Deommodore Lenoir.
McLaurin stayed down while teammates knelt nearby before he was driven off the field. He was immediately ruled out for the game with a knee injury.
The 31-year-old McLaurin has missed more than two games in a season only once since entering the league in 2019. He missed seven games last season while dealing with an injured quadriceps.
McLaurin has 15 catches for 230 yards and one touchdown this season, missing one game with an injured hamstring in Week 4. He is a two-time Pro Bowler and has 513 catches for 7,191 yards and 42 touchdowns in his career.
