The Washington Commanders are 1-3-1 and everyone is still talking about the embarrassing end to their game against the Giants that ended in a 27-27 tie. We gone over what went down, and everyone’s been trying to piece together who gets some, or all, of the blame for why the Commanders didn’t kick a field goal before time ran out on their chance at a critical division victory.
The bigger picture is the Commanders are sitting firmly in the bottom group of NFL teams after Week 5. They are 0-2-1 in the NFC
East, and had the opportunity to get within one game of the Giants, who still sit atop the division at 3-2. The calls to fire Dan Quinn continue to grow, and the good will he got from an upset win over the reigning Super Bowl-champion Seattle Seahawks has long faded from most fans memories. They are ready for a change in coaches and a change in direction for Washington.
Jayden Daniels made his return after missing 2 1/2 games due to another elbow dislocation. He made the Giants pay with his legs, and had the Commanders up by 14 points in the 3rd quarter. The end-of-regulation gaffe has brought negative attention of the coaching staff, but Daniels is also catching blame for his role as the player with the ball in his hands on the final play.
The Power Rankers have dropped the Commanders to the nether realms of the league, never to be heard from again unless Jayden makes a highlight play. The Commanders head to California this week to take on the #1 team on a lot of power rankings lists this week, the San Francisco 49ers. They opened as big underdogs (+7.5), and there isn’t much faith out there for a Seahawks-type upset after Sunday’s demoralizing ending. Will the Commanders be able to pull it together after the Week 7 bye or could another bad outcome lead to big changes on their week off?
High: 20
Low: 30
Average: 26.6
#20
Walter Football
I think we’ve seen enough from Dan Quinn as a head coach. There’s no reason the Redskins should have run a play when they could have just kicked the field goal. Quinn is a brilliant defensive coordinator, but he has now failed twice as a head coach, and the Redskins need to go in a different direction next year. Last week: 20
#25
Yahoo Sports (Schwab)
Let’s wait a moment to pile on Dan Quinn, Jayden Daniels and whoever else was responsible for the fiasco at the end of Sunday’s tie. There were other issues. The Commanders allowed a field goal and three touchdowns on the Giants’ first four possessions of the second half. They had a 27-13 lead with just over 11 minutes left and couldn’t win. The Commanders couldn’t make a play against Jameis Winston to clinch a victory. And with a chance to ice the game with a 27-20 lead or win the game in the final 1:43 of regulation or after a missed Giants field goal in overtime, the Commanders punted three times. Those were failures too and can’t be forgotten.
And obviously the end of the game was inexcusable. The Commanders were rudderless as the clock ran out, and that’s alarming. Quinn doesn’t call offensive or defensive plays so a stupefying failure in clock management at the end is a really bad look for him. Daniels has to be more aware as well. It’s not impossible for the Commanders to rebound from blowing a shot at a win Sunday, but it was embarrassing and will affect them all season in the NFC East race, if they ever get back in it. Last week: 25
Fox Sports (Vacchiano)
What the hell was that? There’s really not much more to say than that after the way the Commanders lost (OK, tied) the Giants on Sunday. It was bad enough that they wasted a triumphant return performance by QB Jayden Daniels that was giving them hope for the rest of their season. It was worse that head coach Dan Quinn’s defense forgot how to play in the second half and let the Giants shove them down the field and almost win the game.
Letting the clock run out in overtime when you’re staring at a short, game-winning field goal? It’s inexcusable. And it’s on the coach — or more accurately, their soon-to-be-former coach.
Stat To Know: The Commanders had an 89% chance to win immediately before the final play of overtime against the Giants. Last week: 25
Sporting News (Iyer)
The good news is Jayden Daniels is healthy and doing his running thing. The Commanders are now 12-4-1 when he gets 8 or more rushing attempts in a game. He dropped 103 yards for 9 carries on the Giants, the second time he’s hit a century. Although the tie with the Giants stinks, his team should be thrilled to see Daniels back doing his thing. Last week: 24
NBC Sports (Wirth)
Jayden Daniels had a monster game on the ground in his return, but cost his team an overtime win by not throwing the ball out of bounds on the final play. What a frustrating ending. Last week: 26
NFL Spin Zone (Bedinger)
Jayden Daniels was back for the Washington Commanders in Week 5, and he was back to doing Jayden Daniels things.
Unfortunately, so was the Commanders’ defense…
With a…commanding…27-13 lead at the start of the 4th quarter, the Washington defense promptly gave up back-to-back touchdown drives. One of nine plays, the next of 10 plays. It was absolutely atrocious.
Then, as both the Commanders and Giants traded the football in overtime, it came down to an obvious field goal attempt for Washington, but as they were trying to set up the field goal for their kicker, they ended up accidentally running out the clock.
You simply can’t make this stuff up.
What should have been a clear win for the Commanders – multiple times over – accidentally became a tie. And nobody likes those. Yikes.
Sportsnaut (Johnson)
An embarrassing end-of-game sequence for Jayden Daniels and the Washington Commanders. It’s a shame, too, because the second-year quarterback returned to the field with a bang (103 rushing yards and 2 touchdowns) on a Sunday when the Commanders’ rushing attack looked better than it has in more than a year. Unfortunately, it’s all going to be difficult to remember because Daniels’ handling of the clock in the final seconds resulted in a tie. Last week: 25
The Score
It was supposed to be a great day for the Commanders, who saw Jayden Daniels return from injury and were really close to a divisional victory Sunday over the Giants. The chaotic tie feels like a loss for Washington, but at least Daniels is back, and the NFC East is a complete disaster right now. Last week: 25
Big Blue View (Falato)
Washington was a disaster in that end-of-game situation. Getting Jayden Daniels back is huge for Washington, but the Giants’ defense shut down the offense —for the most part. Daniels, though, has to do a better job at the end of the game to secure that victory. Last week: 24
Team Rankings
Last week: 26
#27
The Athletic (Graff/Kendall)
Who have you beaten? Seahawks
Has a tie ever felt like more of a loss? There are so many questions coming out of this one. How did Jayden Daniels not understand the situation? How did Dan Quinn not have his team better prepared for that late-game moment? In a way, that sums up where the Commanders sit after a promising 2024 season: just a lot of questions with no great results. Last week: 26
Bleacher Report
This writer isn’t going to say the Commanders should fire head coach Dan Quinn now. That isn’t going to save what appears to be another lost season in the nation’s capital.
But this year should be his last.
Despite Quinn’s defensive background, Washington continues to struggle on that side of the ball. The Commanders were 26th in the league in pass defense entering Week 5, and that number isn’t getting any better after Jameis Winston carved them up.
There’s also the poor clock management in overtime. Jayden Daniels deserves some blame, but the coaching staff must ensure its quarterback understands the situation and knows he can’t go down in bounds.
The Commanders need someone who can develop Daniels.
Quinn is not that guy. Last week: 25
Pro Football Network (Infante)
Though the Washington Commanders didn’t lose in Week 5, their tie with the Giants on Sunday feels like a game that they should’ve won. Their offense failed to get set in time to spike the ball and stop the clock, which would have set them up for an easy field goal in the final seconds of overtime. As a result, the Commanders now have a “one” in the tie column.
The Commanders now sit at 1-3-1 through the first five weeks of the 2026-27 NFL season. A win felt like it was right within their grasp, and a 2-3 start would’ve been enough to keep them competitive in a weak NFC East. This early in the season, no team is truly out of the running, especially in a bad division. But Sunday’s finish felt like a major missed opportunity for Washington. Last week: 26
Essentially Sports (Hubbard)
Honestly, I don’t even know what to say here. Maybe the worst blunder I’ve ever seen from a professional football team. The Commanders should’ve won this weekend, but they tied. Dan Quinn’s seat is HOT. Last week: 26
Full Press Coverage (Glendon)
Washington avoided a loss, but a 27-27 tie with the Giants does not create much momentum. The Commanders have been competitive in flashes, but the record remains a problem.
The earlier Seattle win still gives them one of the strangest résumés in the league. The rest of the season has not matched it.
New York Post (Dunleavy)
Last week: 25
#28
ESPN
Biggest issue on defense: Performing in the second half
The Commanders are last in second-half points allowed per game (19) and 28th in second-half yards allowed per game (151.2). They have given up 20 or more points after halftime in each of the past four games, which includes a blown two-touchdown lead Sunday. One big issue has been a lack of pressure. Washington ranks 28th in sacks per dropback in the second half. Their secondary has played better, but it lacks playmakers. That issue, combined with little pressure, is why the Commanders are allowing a 53.1 third-down conversion rate after halftime. — John Keim Last week: 27
NFL.com (Shook)
Jayden Daniels returned and injected life into Washington’s offense, which was nice. The Commanders’ defense acquitted itself well, too, until the fourth-quarter collapse that saw Jameis Winston lead two touchdown drives to send the game to overtime. The ending wiped everything else away in the general football consciousness, which is understandable, but I liked what I saw from the Commanders for most of this game. That chaotic, disastrous finish was too fitting for this team, though, which is why it lands here after giving away a gift-wrapped win to take a painful tie. Last week: 28
Sports Illustrated (Orr)
Column on the Commanders and a moment both completely inexplicable and completely familiar for any human. Last week: 26
USA Today (Davis)
Maybe it wouldn’t feel like the clock was running out on their season … if they knew what to do when the clock was running out on the field. Last week: 24
CBS Sports (Prisco)
The tie they got against the Giants should have been a victory. They choked at the end. That has to sting to not win it. Last week: 28
Pro Football Talk
The clock is still ticking on Dan Quinn. In more ways than one. Last week: 26
Clutch Sports (Johrendt)
Getting Jayden Daniels back was just the trick that the Commanders needed in Week 5, as they earned a key tie at home to keep the NFC East standings tight. Daniels used his legs well in Week 5, turning nine carries into 103 yards and two touchdowns. Jacory Croskey-Merritt chipped in 82 yards and a score on the ground, while Terry McLaurin and Chig Okonkwo combined for 122 receiving yards in the win. Last week: 25
Sharp Football Analysis (Summerlin)
Brother, I don’t know. Jayden Daniels should have known the situation. The coaching staff should not have let the play clock run all the way down before Daniels took that sack. Obviously, they should have won. That said, Washington would not have been in overtime if the defense got a stop in the fourth quarter, and the Giants twice drove into field goal range in overtime. The obvious takeaway is that this is not a very good team, and they get the 49ers this week before their bye. Last week: 26
The Big Lead (Giangrande)
The Commanders are this far down this list due to the last bone-headed sequence in overtime this week. They were set up perfectly to kick a game-winning FG against the Giants, yet for some reason Jayden Daniels let the clock run out to end the game in a tie. Last week: 27
Windy City Gridiron (Leming)
The Commanders are a better team with Jayden Daniels on the field. What should have been a Week 5 win turned into a tie and put their season in a tough spot. This group has holes, but in my evaluation, they are poorly coached. There’s still a chance for them to jump back into the mix, but it’s going to take a big stretch starting Week 6 against an undefeated 49ers squad. Good luck, Washington. Last week: 27
Kalshi
Last week: 26
#30
Fansided (La Canfora)
Dan Quinn’s handling of the end-of-overtime situation against the Giants will get him fired. Not immediately, we suspect. But that was such a visceral, overwhelmed, scramble-drill way to have a game end without even attempting a field goal as time expired; the owner never forgets. At home, with Jayden Daniels back from yet another injury, that was officially the beginning of the end for Quinn. Last week: 27
Where should the Commanders be ranked? Let us know in the comments.
