How did the Commanders tie? Jayden Daniels, Dan Quinn gaffe led to rare feat

The Washington Commanders will be looking to shake off a disappointing Week 5 result as they face the San Francisco 49ers on "Monday Night Football" in Week 6. The Commanders had a chance in front of them to beat the New York Giants in a tightly contested overtime game. Washington worked the ball in

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What is the story about?

The Washington Commanders will be looking to shake off a disappointing Week 5 result as they face the San Francisco 49ers on "Monday Night Football" in Week 6.

The Commanders had a chance in front of them to beat the New York Giants in a tightly contested overtime game. Washington worked the ball into field goal range in the final minute of the extra period, and it looked like the team was just a Drew Stevens kick away from earning its second victory of the season.

Instead, the Commanders endured a disastrous final play that saw them run out the clock without ever having a chance to attempt the game-ending kick. As a result, the game ended in a tie, marking the NFL's first since the Dallas Cowboys and Green Bay Packers played to a 40-all draw

in Week 4 of the 2025 season.

Here's more to know about the Commanders' tie with the Giants and how Dan Quinn and Jayden Daniels reacted to it.

How did the Commanders tie a game?

The Commanders tied their Week 5 game against the Giants thanks to poor, endgame clock management.

With just over a minute left in overtime, the Commanders got the ball to the Giants' 26-yard line after Daniels hit wide receiver Treylon Burks for a 13-yard gain. Rachaad White then followed that up with a 2-yard plunge with 55 seconds remaining in the extra frame, and many presumed the Commanders would simply spike the ball and set up a field goal of about 41 yards.

However, after letting the clock drip down to 12 seconds, Daniels fielded a snap from center Nick Allegretti and scrambled around for a few seconds. He then inexplicably dove to the ground with eight seconds remaining, despite the Commanders being out of timeouts.

Washington tried to scramble to the line to spike the ball, but there wasn't nearly enough time for the Commanders' receivers to get lined up to stop the clock. As a result, the final seconds bled away, sealing a 27-all tie between the divisional rivals.

When they were in position to kick a game-winning FG, the Commanders ran out the clock. https://t.co/qxh9ZMGQ3t
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) October 11, 2026

Quinn appeared dejected on the sideline following the gaffe. He spiked his headset to the ground and held his hands over his head in disbelief as the Giants celebrated avoiding their second loss of the 2026 NFL season.

What Dan Quinn, Jayden Daniels said about Commanders timing gaffe

After the game, Quinn acknowledged he was "gutted" for his team and took the blame for not spiking the ball earlier to guarantee the team a chance at a field goal attempt.

"The right call honestly was, we can go clock it early and don't put ourselves in that spot," Quinn said, describing the game's final play. "And that's my responsibility. Nobody else's."

Quinn also explained that the Commanders were attempting to gain more yards to make the field goal attempt easier. He regretted that decision, opining the team didn't need to get any closer, as the team was already well within undrafted rookie Drew Stevens' range.

Quinn was also asked whether Daniels knew the team was out of timeouts before the final play was run. The third-year coach said he hadn't yet spoken to Daniels but made it clear that the third-year quarterback wasn't at fault for the botched endgame execution.

"The sequencing of that does not fall on him," Quinn said, referencing Daniels. "It's an outside throw or a clock. You know, those are the two – out of bounds throw or a clock. That has to come from me. I don't even have to put him into that spot. I can do that earlier and we can finish the kick early. We don't need to gain more yards, so that's on me."

The following day, Quinn acknowledged he had moved from "gutted" about the finish to "furious" about the endgame sequence.

"Furious about our execution in the crucial moments of the game," Quinn said. "We work really hard on things and it didn’t look like it. Pissed about it."

Daniels relayed a similar message to Quinn. The third-year quarterback took responsibility for the mistake and lamented the team's inability to communicate what needed to happen in the critical moment at the end of the game.

"We just gotta be better. We all gotta be better situationally. It starts with me," Daniels said. "Everybody will say the same thing, but we just gotta be better in situational football."

History of NFL ties

The NFL first implemented overtime in 1974. Since then, there have been 31 total ties, 14 of which have occurred since 2012, when the league introduced its modified "sudden death" format.

The Commanders and Giants have each participated in four of those ties dating back to 1974. Three came against each other, with the first being in 1997, the second in 2022 and the most recent one being in 2026.

Below is a full list of the NFL's ties since it first implemented overtime in 1974.