Overview
- On Monday night the Commanders went for it on fourth-and-2 at the San Francisco 13 and Jayden Daniels rolled right and threw the ball away as a flag flew, resulting in a turnover on downs and contributing to a 23-17 road loss.
- A viral ESPN clip appeared to show Dan Quinn confused about the down, but Quinn told reporters he knew it was fourth down and that his postgame message to Daniels was to attempt the throw even with a flag on the field.
- Daniels acknowledged the mistake and said he was unsure which team the flag targeted but accepted responsibility and said he needed to 'execute better' in those spots despite completing 29 of 40 passes for 300 yards and two touchdowns.
- Quinn publicly blamed the offensive line for a substandard Week 6 showing, with multiple holding penalties and four sacks cited by analysts and grading services as a main cause of short pocket times and derailed drives.
- With Washington entering its bye week at 1-4-1 the staff plans to search for better line combinations, tighten protection rules and improve coaching communication, a focus made more urgent by Terry McLaurin’s season-ending knee injury and rising scrutiny of Quinn's game management.