Dan Quinn is not making excuses.
The Washington Commanders head coach Monday conversed with the media, answering their questions about the Commanders losing their 2026 opener 24-22 in Philadelphia. One reporter asked about the Commanders giving up some big plays, despite playing good defense for most of the game.
It’s true, the Commanders accomplished 10 tackles for a loss, including three sacks of Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts. But it is also just as true that the Commanders surrendered plays of 64, 43, 42, 41, and 22 yards. If that is not bad enough, the Washington defense also had the Eagles in a third-and-goal from the 17 and surrendered a 17-yard touchdown pass to Dallas Goedert. BTW, that 22-yard big play mentioned above? That was in the fourth
quarter. The Eagles had a third-and-18 from their own 31. Jalen Hurts ran for 22 yards and a huge first down, leading to the Eagles' final score of 24-16.
3rd and 18? No problem for Jalen Hurts 💨
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When Quinn was asked about the big plays surrendered, “I thought there’s some lessons (learned),” he said. “Hopefully it’s like, 'don’t touch the stove.’ Like we thought there was a penalty for a false start, and it wasn’t. Then you finish it out. You finish the play; that was one example.”
That was the final Eagles score, where the left tackle appeared to move prior to the snap.
“There was a long quarterback scramble where we had two pass rushers that were on the ground into that space. So, finishing plays. There was one long one; it didn’t end up being a touchdown, but it was an explosive (play) to Mike's (Sainristil) side. Those are three that stand out. Just having the readiness. I loved the attitude, the mindset to have. But to have ‘there are no plays off, except for this one.’ So, to always be in that finishing stature and mindset. I think that was the big lesson for me.”
So Quinn feels he saw guys not finish as they should, quitting on plays when they got tired. Quinn continued, “You got to point those out because you don’t get to play the ‘except for’ game.”
This article originally appeared on Commanders Wire: Commanders coach Dan Quinn not making excuses after season-opening loss to Eagles
