The Washington Commanders have struggled with penalties throughout the first six games of the NFL season. They have averaged nearly eight penalties per game, and it is something head coach Dan Quinn has discussed during the bye week.
“First, the ones that are prior to the snap. Those are ones that, man, this should not happen,” Quinn said. “But the ones of an illegal shift or a false start, cadence and discipline to go through those. Those are critical in every way. You want to play smart. You want to play physical in that way. But, let’s make sure they are at the same plane and by eliminating some of the pre-snap ones for sure. That’s a big step forward.”
As part of Washington’s new approach to minimizing penalties, they have essentially implemented
a penalty system. If there is a player who is repeatedly getting penalized, they will be benched. Quinn also said they are working on the communication in the huddle and cadence to minimize other pre-snap penalties.
“The next step after that is if there is one specific violator to say, ‘Okay, that’s the person that comes and has a seat on the bench until that gets organized.’ We’ve been a little mix-and-match of whom and when and so for us, what can we shorten? What type of communication can be better? Cadences, communication in the huddle and that part, we’re going to work really hard to get right.”
Keep committing pre-snap penalties? Take a seat.
— Marshall Kramsky (@marshallkramsky) October 26, 2026
Following the bye week, Commanders Head Coach Dan Quinn tells me the Commanders are cracking down on “self-inflicted wounds”
If the mistakes continue, players could find themselves on the bench. pic.twitter.com/jzZ8DW15Nb
Whether this system is effective or not will be put to the test in Washington’s next game on Sunday Night Football against the Philadelphia Eagles, who they lost to 24-22 in the season opener. Penalties played a critical role in that game.
This article originally appeared on Commanders Wire: Dan Quinn says he will bench players who frequently commit penalties
