As soon as the Washington Commanders assassinated their 85% chance to beat the New York Giants in overtime on Sunday at Northwest Stadium, I texted one of my longtime sports editors: “Good thing I’m not in the ‘fire the coach’ stage of my life, ‘cause I’d sure as hell fire Dan Quinn. What a ******.”
Now, after thinking, and having nightmares, about the worst brain-dead snafu I can recall in 70 years of watching Washington’s NFL team — plus listening to outraged experts on six different shows — I have one thought to add.
It’s possible that the Commanders did everything correctly, except for the last split second of their final play. One split second.
If Jayden Daniels had simply flipped the ball out of bounds — over the head of tight end Ben Sinnott, who was near the left sideline — instead of inexplicably holding it and getting tackled in the field of play, then the correct grade for the Commanders’ clock management in the final 55 seconds would be: A+.
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Washington did everything perfectly in those final seconds, except the very last and most important thing: throw an incomplete pass (or spike the ball) to allow for a 42-yard field goal attempt, which the internet says NFL kickers make about 85% of the time.
It is absolutely incorrect, as some have said or implied, that the Commanders, once they reached the Giants’ 24-yard line, should have just spiked it and kicked it.
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That would ignore the 15% chance — far from insignificant — that rookie Drew Stevens would miss the kick. He’d already missed wide right on a PAT Sunday. The Giants kicker missed three field goals. It was a rainy afternoon and a wet field.
If Stevens had missed, the game would simply have continued, and the Giants would have had the ball at their 32-yard line, only about 30 yards from (long) field goal range.
Recent NFL miracles and debacles — like the Philadelphia Eagles losing in England on Sunday despite kicking off with a 2-point lead and just eight seconds to play — prove that every second matters.
Before the disaster, Washington did a perfect job of clock burning, moving to the line deliberately, barking several signals and sending a man in motion — any of which might have provoked an offside penalty against New York — before finally snapping the ball to Daniels just before the play clock expired and with 13 seconds on the game clock.
A quick drop back and throw away, plus the time needed for the field goal attempt, would have left the Giants with only about eight seconds if they got the ball after a missed kick.
This interpretation, one of many ways to view this epic football blunder, may give the Commanders too much benefit of too many doubts. I think it’s the most likely reality, but one that the team’s coaches shy from explaining clearly because it dumps more blame on Daniels, and less on themselves, after a game in which JD5 played bravely and very well.
What many have missed, and I’ve been looking for in every game analysis, is that at the 55-second mark, the Commanders had not one but two absolute imperatives: Make sure you get off a field goal attempt, and run off as much time as you (safely) can before that kick in case you miss.
Turns out that, even in this most generous of evaluations, the Commanders couldn’t walk and chew gum at the same time. And historians recall that Quinn is also the coach, then in Atlanta, who blew the biggest lead in Super Bowl history to New England, in part because of widely criticized clock management.
During those 55 seconds, the Commanders certainly looked confused. After Daniels was tackled, for a second — a long time in the NFL — he did not even bounce up and rush to get the ball snapped and spiked. So, any variety of miscommunication is possible between Quinn, rookie offensive coordinator David Blough and Daniels during that time. But Quinn, Blough or both needed to be in the quarterback’s earpiece with, “Above all, we have no timeouts left so Stop The Damn Clock!”
Also, Washington may have put too much emphasis on trying to gain a few more yards with (presumably) a short sideline pass that would either be caught or go out of bounds. Quinn said something along those lines afterward, implying he should have “made things easier” for Daniels by just “telling him to spike it.”
The only absolutely correct play, since neither team had a timeout left, was to bleed the clock, as the Commanders did, then spike the ball with about 12 seconds left on the game clock.
Is the whole mess worth firing a coach who, by many accounts, is an exemplary fellow?
I wouldn’t. Not now. Not with the team, apparently, still behind him. Not after his classy accept-the-blame press conference, which allowed Daniels to also accept blame but not actually get as much flack as he might have.
With offensive and defensive coordinators, and countless assistant coaches, the truth is that an NFL head coach doesn’t have to do much lifting, heavy or otherwise, during a game.
Do you throw the challenge flag? Do you go for it on fourth down? Do you manage your time outs correctly? Do you manage the clock precisely — and certainly never botch it entirely — at the end of the half and the game?
There’s other stuff. When to stomp on your headset. When to turn your hat around (never).
But the real test: Who is the coach next year? Sunday contained a painful amount of information on that.
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