No one involved is blameless for the Washington Commanders' game-ending debacle against the New York Giants in overtime.
Coach Dan Quinn on Monday expressed frustration with multiple facets of the final play of the 27-27 tie, when Washington allowed the clock to run out while it was in range for a game-winning field goal.
With 55 seconds left and the ball at the Giants 26-yard line, the Commanders called a run play for Rachaad White that gained 2 yards
and kept the clock moving. They substituted in multiple players and took their time snapping the ball, which didn't happen until 13 seconds left. A pass play was called, and Jayden Daniels took off running and was tackled inbounds without enough time left to run another play.
“Honestly just furious about our execution in the crucial moments of the game,” Quinn said on a video call with reporters. “We worked really hard on these and it didn’t look like yesterday.”
Quinn said the team wanted to use more clock after getting into field goal range, considering there had been missed kicks from both teams — New York rookie Dominic Zvada was 2 of 5 on field-goal attempts, while Washington's Drew Stevens had already missed an extra point.
“It took entirely too long from there on to execute our strategy, from subbing to clock awareness to clocking the ball,” Quinn said. “And what I told the team and the coaches is it was a breakdown that can’t happen.”
When asked about first-year offensive coordinator David Blough's role in the end-of-game scenario, Quinn took responsibility.
“It needs to be communicated then from me to David, who has the last words with Jayden on each down, not just a start of a drive,” Quinn said. “And so when there’s that time, you want to get to where the next one we’re able to clock and kick. And so those are the ones in subbing and too slow with that, our execution was just off.”
The play call itself was not unorthodox or unusual, Quinn said. But if the play had been run more quickly, the team would have had time to get back to the line of scrimmage, spike the ball to stop the clock and attempt a field goal.
Quinn agreed that the Commanders didn't show enough urgency, and that communication starts with him and has to flow from there. That begins with the substitutions, which Quinn said were unnecessary in hindsight.
Daniels' rushing ability. Playing with a brace on his left, non-throwing elbow after he dislocated it in Week 2, Daniels was effective as a rusher against the Giants. He finished with 103 yards rushing, including touchdowns of 38 and 26 yards.
Situational awareness. The Commanders had several miscues in the final minute of OT, one of which was Daniels' failure to recognize the situation and throw the ball away. Instead, he went down in the middle of the field.
“We have to stop the clock,” Daniels said afterward. “We have to know the situation. We have to relay that as an offense. It starts with everyone, top down. Ultimately, it’s on me.”
Chig Okonko. After missing two games (against the Cowboys in Week 2 and the Seahawks in Week 3), the tight end had four catches for 60 yards on six targets against the Giants. He had totaled four catches for 21 yards in his other two games this season.
Washington's second-half defense. The meltdown in the final minute obscured the fact that the Commanders allowed 24 points to the Giants in the third and fourth quarters.
New York scored three touchdowns and kicked a field goal on its final four possessions of regulation. In overtime, the Giants missed a field goal and fumbled in Commanders territory.
Excluding when Jameis Winston took a knee to end regulation, the Commanders allowed 332 yards on 56 plays — an average a 5.9 yards per play.
Quinn said that based on medical reports, he expects receiver Stefon Diggs (hamstring) and safety Nick Cross (illness) to return soon. Linebacker Javonte Jean-Baptiste suffered a pectoral injury, and Quinn said the team is awaiting more information.
95 — Second-half points allowed by the Commanders through five games. That includes 24 by the Giants.
The Commanders visit unbeaten San Francisco in a Monday night game on Oct. 19. Although the NFC East is considered wide open, Washington is two games behind the division-leading Giants and needs to stack wins in order to stay in the playoff mix.
___
See AP’s full NFL coverage here
