Commanders Fall to 1-4-1 as Quinn and Daniels Face Scrutiny

Washington's late-game execution problems continued Monday night as the Commanders lost 23-17 to the San Francisco 49ers in Santa Clara, California. Quarterback Jayden Daniels and head coach Dan Quinn faced renewed scrutiny after a failed fourth-down attempt and several costly decisions compounded the team's difficulties following an overtime clock-management error against the New York Giants eight days earlier.

The defeat left Washington with a 1-4-1 record, the worst in the NFC East, according to Sportsnet. Daniels helped the Commanders recover from a deficit that reached 20 points in the second half, but the comeback fell short as the offense struggled to convert critical opportunities.

Early in the second quarter, Washington faced fourth-and-2 at the San Francisco 13-yard line while trailing 13-3. Daniels scrambled to his right under pressure before throwing the ball out of bounds, and running back Rachaad White was flagged for an illegal shift. The penalty and incomplete pass ended the possession.

Daniels acknowledged that his decision required better execution, regardless of the penalty. The quarterback said he needed to handle the situation differently rather than allow the play to end without giving his receivers a chance.

"I just gotta execute better in that situation regardless of a flag or not. Fourth down … don’t die with the ball, so I have to be better in that spot," Daniels said after the game.

ESPN analyst Troy Aikman criticized the decision because Washington was attempting to convert on fourth down.

"You don’t throw (the) ball away on fourth down. You gotta at least give your receiver an opportunity," Aikman said during the broadcast.

Quinn also faced questions after television cameras captured him appearing frustrated following the illegal-shift penalty. The footage circulated online because it appeared to show uncertainty about the down, particularly after Washington's previous clock-management failure against New York.

Quinn denied being confused about the situation and explained that the coaching staff had deliberately chosen to attempt fourth-down conversions rather than settle for field goals. He said the team anticipated needing a higher scoring total to defeat San Francisco.

"I definitely knew it was fourth down. We were going for it, and I was — I think what you’re referring to, I was probably saying, like, with the illegal shift, there’s not a penalty to go for a field goal. Like, it doesn’t go, like, it’s the turn on downs.

Like, I think somebody asked me, ‘Can we kick a field goal?’ So, now we were going for it. We knew we had to go for some fourth downs to be bold in the game.

I didn’t think it was gonna be a 17-14 game. I probably thought it was gonna need 28, 30 to score, you know, to go win it. And so it was by design that we were gonna go, but I knew what happened.

I think, I probably was just commenting that I remember, at least on the headset, somebody asked me, after an illegal shift, like it was turnover on downs, and [quarterback] Jayden [Daniels] saw the foul, too. He also came out and saw the penalty," Quinn told reporters, according to NBC Sports.

The explanation followed a difficult week for Washington's coaching staff. Against the Giants, the Commanders allowed overtime to expire without attempting a potential game-winning field goal, leaving the NFC East rivals with a 27-27 tie. Quinn subsequently said the team had reviewed the decisions and the reasons behind the mistake to prevent a repeat.

"Our time today as a team was spent on the how and why to make sure that it never does (happen) again," Quinn told reporters the following Monday. He also acknowledged broader shortcomings from the Giants game and emphasized the urgency of correcting them.

Washington encountered further problems during its final comeback attempt against San Francisco. With 3:01 remaining and facing fourth-and-8 at the 49ers' 29-yard line, the Commanders elected to go for the first down and converted, but eventually surrendered possession on downs. The decision also required the team to use a timeout as the play clock ran down.

After Washington's defense forced San Francisco to go three-and-out, the earlier timeout left the Commanders with less flexibility. Daniels later threw an incomplete pass into the end zone on fourth down shortly after the two-minute warning. On the final possession, he was penalized for intentional grounding on second-and-10 from the San Francisco 28 with 16 seconds remaining. Following a 10-second runoff, he was sacked on the final play.

ESPN analyst Dan Orlovsky questioned the appearance created by the sideline footage, while acknowledging that lip-reading could be inaccurate. His criticism focused on the potential consequences for the coaching staff after the previous week's overtime mistake.

"If the situation is what it presents as, where (Quinn) says 'field goal', that's what it looks like, we're lip-reading, we could be wrong, and then he goes, 'oh, fourth down,' coming off last week, it's just not a good look for the head coach, not a good look for the full operation of the Commanders," Orlovsky said during halftime, according to Sportsnet.

Washington had reached the NFC Championship game in 2024 with Daniels as a rookie and Quinn in his first season as head coach. The team subsequently finished 5-12 last season, and its latest defeat added further pressure to improve execution in decisive situations.