The Washington Commanders had a last-second shot to tie their Week 9 game against the Los Angeles Rams, but they inexplicably threw the ball short of the end zone on the game's final play.
To set the scene, the Commanders were trailing 20-13 but had the ball on the Rams' 31-yard line with three seconds remaining in the game.
Many presumed Jayden Daniels would get to give his pass-catchers one final shot to reel in a shorter-distance Hail Mary to either tie or win their game against the Rams.
Instead, the Commanders dialed up a play that saw Daniels check the ball down to tight end Chig Okonkwo. He gained 20 yards after breaking a tackle but was quickly
surrounded by a bevy of Rams defenders as he went to the sideline.
Okonkwo tried to lateral the ball, but the Commanders weren't able to advance the ball, as it changed hands multiple times before ending up with Rams edge rusher Byron Young to close the game.
The Commanders previously had another opportunity to take a shot at the end zone from the 31-yard line with eight seconds remaining. Washington also failed to get the ball into the end zone on that play, with Daniels throwing the ball slightly over the head of Stefon Diggs and seeing it hit the ground just shy of the goal line.
Naturally, Commanders coach Dan Quinn was asked about his team's play-call during his postgame news conference. The 56-year-old explained his team had the option to run one of two plays once they reached the line of scrimmage.
"On the first one, you're taking a shot to the end zone, like you described," Quinn detailed. "Sometimes, the check for that against a team that does what we call a 'zero blitz' or a 'max blitz,' you wanna – OK, here's the other play where you can't block 'em all up."
"They did a good job disguising and showing that one," Quinn added, referring to how Los Angeles appeared to be running an all-out blitz. "So, we got to the second play of what would have been everybody blitzing, check it down and move forward from there."
While Quinn understood the process that led to the check-down to Okonkwo, he remained displeased with how his team executed during the final stages of Sunday's game.
"With eight seconds left, you want two chances at something," Quinn told reporters. "To not have those – didn't love our execution there at the end."
Sunday wasn't the first time the Commanders' endgame execution has come under fire this season. Quinn and Daniels faced plenty of criticism after their Week 5 tie against the New York Giants, when Daniels failed to spike the ball at the end of overtime to set up a potential game-winning field goal.
Both Daniels and Quinn took responsibility for that gaffe during media availabilities following those games.
Now, they will have to quickly shake off their latest late-game shortcoming as they prepare to face the New York Giants on "Thursday Night Football" in Week 10.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Dan Quinn explains Commanders’ baffling decision to skip Hail Mary vs. Rams
