When leaders disappoint their group, how should they respond?
On Monday, Commanders WR Stefon Diggs addressed the team and said he was wrong to draw an unsportsmanlike penalty. Diggs drew the penalty immediately after catching a touchdown pass from Jayden Daniels. The touchdown brought the Commanders to within two points (17-15) of the Eagles. However, his 15-yard penalty cost the Commanders dearly, meaning they could not try for two points to tie the game. They had to settle instead for a 48-yard extra-point attempt, which Drew Stevens converted, making the score 17-16 Philadelphia.
Commanders score TD… want to go for 2 to tie game… but Stefon Diggs jumps on goal post, gets a 15-yard penalty and Washington has to kick XP idiotic pic.twitter.com/4HytuNNUDW
— Warren Sharp (@SharpFootball) September 13, 2026
The penalty was a missed opportunity to tie the game, and the blame fell squarely on Diggs. So he spoke to the team. WUSA9 sports anchor Marshall Kramsky asked Diggs about it Wednesday.
“My biggest thing was I am accountable,” conveyed Diggs. “I always admit I am human. But I’m accountable way more than I am human. This is a team sport, and I feel like as a leader on this team I always want to win.”
“If you really want to win, you want to do everything to put the team in a position to win...things happen; you try to move forward. I told them I was accountable; that was number one. I just wanted to say it to the team. I don’t wanna brush anything under the rug. I don’t want things to go unnoticed.”
Good for Diggs. He is correct; he cost the team the opportunity to tie the game at 17-17. It doesn’t mean they would have, but it does mean they had to go for two late in the game instead of simply kicking to tie the game at 24-24. He is correct in confessing to the team because he let them down. He further didn’t make excuses for his poor choice; he owned it.
By doing this, Diggs might be helping set a culture of not making excuses when players make poor choices. As a result, he stands a better chance of earning the respect of teammates who themselves understand the importance of being responsible for the choices you make and owning them.
This article originally appeared on Commanders Wire: Commanders WR Stefon Diggs addressed teammates after costly penalty vs Eagles
