Washington Commanders cornerback Mike Sainristil brought a lot of attention to himself in the Week 1 loss to the Eagles.
He no doubt would have rather it come by interceptions or forced fumbles from crunching tackles. However, the attention he has received stems primarily from two plays where he was in pass coverage and surrendered a big play and an easy touchdown.
So naturally, Commanders head coach Dan Quinn was asked Monday during his press conference about Sainristil (now in his third season) on those two plays. The first was a 9-yard touchdown where Sainristil, in man coverage, simply wasn’t aggressive or intense. The second was a 64-yard completion over Sainristil, where he looked lost and unaware.
Mike Sainristil got routed by Wicks right
here 😮💨 pic.twitter.com/Bi0ApejvRd
— Theconnectsport (@theconnectsport) September 14, 2026
“The touchdown play definitely felt like, as the motion got over, man, like, you have to go get set,” Quinn said. “And those are things that we have to get corrected. We’ve definitely identified a few things that, ‘Hey, man, these are the things that we have to get corrected.’ Mike's a very good competitor. I'm certain that we will, but to have that type of play and just not have the right focus at the right time, completely not acceptable.”
Not sure what this was from Mikey Sainristil. He flips his head to find the ball and stopped running.
— Grant Paulsen (@GrantPaulsen) September 13, 2026
Gives up a 64 yard bomb. pic.twitter.com/Xs9et083GS
Then Quinn addressed the second play.
"On the second play, the deep pass play, I think you’re referring to kinda the same thing as you lost track of the ball, like, ‘Finish it out, man.’ And so, I think that’s the lesson in the game. It wasn’t schematically related to him or something like that. Communication error or some normal things that go into a big play to go. So, that’s definitely the things we've identified with him, and I'm certain that he'll work on that. We definitely need to.”
Were you tracking what Dan Quinn was saying? He is not pleased with Sainristil’s focus or effort. It’s also clear this has been communicated to Sainristil. It’s also clear Sainristil struggled terribly in pass coverage in 2025, and his 2026 opening game didn’t bring the fan base any confidence that he is progressing.
This article originally appeared on Commanders Wire: Dan Quinn sends clear message to Mike Sainristil
