Washington Commanders head coach Dan Quinn just came off a game with an awful late-game blunder entering Monday Night Football against the San Francisco 49ers, so the scrutiny was going to be there.
And it was when ESPN's cameras showed Quinn talking about a play in which lip-readers thought he was mixed up on if it was third down or fourth down
. You never want your NFL head coach confused about what down it is.But Quinn denied that was the case. A reporter asked him about the moment after the loss to the Niners on Monday, and he had this to say: I definitely knew it was 4th down. We were going for it. ... I think what you’re referring to, I was probably saying, like, with the illegal shift, there’s not a penalty to go for a field goal."
"I definitely
knew it was 4th down." Commanders HC Dan Quinn on the 4th down play that Jayden Daniels threw the ball away in the second quarter. pic.twitter.com/SiBP2SIClg
— ESPN (@espn) October 20, 2026
Not a professional lip reader but did
— Mike Mutnansky (@MikeMutnansky) October 20, 2026
Dan Quinn just say/ask “That was fourth down?” pic.twitter.com/ZUQZuMfDxA
There you have it. But the hot seat for Quinn didn't get any cooler after the Commanders' loss.
This article originally appeared on For The Win: Dan Quinn addresses viral lip-reading clip: 'Definitely knew it was fourth down'
