OPINION:
At the beginning of training camp, Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels was asked about the retirement of veteran linebacker and team leader Bobby Wagner and what it would mean for the 2026 season.
“I picked up on stuff he did and how he led and how he used his voice in certain situations,” Daniels said. “Now he’s not here, now it’s my team for sure.”
My team.
People were interested in these podcasts
Then my blame.
The Zapruder film of the NFL — what happened when the Commanders let the clock expire in overtime Sunday instead of attempting the winning field goal in the 27-27 tie with the New York Giants — has led to debates over who was responsible for perhaps the biggest bonehead play in NFL history.
Ultimately, coach Dan Quinn bears the bulk of responsibility. He failed to have his team prepared for the game-winning moment. He will likely never recover from the ridicule — the play has transcended the sports pages and become a story with legs that may not tire anytime soon. He’s 56 and probably done, but he managed to turn varsity football at Salisbury State into a long coaching career.
Rookie offensive coordinator David Blough shoulders the blame as well, the play caller who thought sending in a pass play as the seconds ticked off the clock was a good idea. But he’s invisible, a former NFL backup quarterback who was prematurely labeled a genius. He is 31 and will disappear on the sideline on coaching staffs around the league. I mean, would you hire the guy who called this play as your head coach?
Daniels, though, in the midst of his third season in the league, presumably still has a career ahead of him, if he can stay healthy. It should be a good one. How will he be viewed? By the public? By players?
He didn’t exactly fall on his sword after the game Sunday, first opting to spread the blame around, with a sprinkle of self-responsibility.
“We just have to be better,” Daniels said. “We all have to be better. Situational football. Starts with me. Everybody will say the same thing, but we have to be better at situational football.”
Then, “We have to stop the clock. 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.”
Asked about communication in the huddle, Daniels said, “Yeah, we’ve just got to be better. Got to be better.”
There’s no “we” there. He is the fail-safe who may not have lit the fuse for this explosion but certainly could have extinguished it.
“On the offensive side, it’s really directed by one, from the quarterback to who he’s talking to at the time,” Quinn said before the season began. “He may talk to the protection to this group, tight end route to here, and a running back cue to someone else. And then as they break the huddle, a last little information that would go.”
That last little piece of information would have been valuable Sunday.
It seemed like players and former players put much of the blame on Daniels for not controlling the huddle in that moment, the huddle being a place they are familiar with and obviously have expectations of the quarterback.
On his podcast, Green Bay Packers linebacker Micah Parsons, who played for Quinn in Dallas when Quinn was the defensive coordinator there, was particularly critical of Daniels.
“All respectfully, we get coached so much on these situations that I’m a defensive player and this is programmed to me,” Parsons said. “I know what to do in those situations.
“There’s no way I’m taking a sack with 14 seconds left and no timeouts. And, mind you, it’d be different if Jayden Daniels was a rookie. This is your third year. You’ve been to the NFC championship game, you’ve been in big moments before. To me, even after the sack, you’re casually getting up. … I’m like, ’You just took a sack … ’ He’s not even urgently getting up.
” … If people want to say QBs win or lose games, and, as you can see, they just won or lost the game on the QB’s hands, this is your job, bro. … This is your job to be prepared, to understand the game and understand situations. That’s in your job profile. And you’re telling me, ’Oh, we’re going to pay this guy eventually $60 million?’ This cannot happen.”
Former NFL receiver James Jones, on the “Speakeasy” podcast, was also harsh in his criticism of Daniels. “Jayden Daniels got to cut the crap,” he said. “You take the snap. What you mean ’we’? Who is ’we’? Center can’t stop the clock, guards can’t stop the clock, tackle can’t stop the clock … no Jayden, you got to stop the clock.
“You’re not a baby in a league anymore,” Jones said. “So cut the ’we have to stop the clock.’ There is no ’we’, there is exclusively a ’you.’ I should have spiked the ball, or I should have thrown it away …the honeymoon phase with Jayden Daniels is a wrap.”
When Quinn talked about Daniels at the start of training camp, he praised him for his control at the line of scrimmage, correcting teammates and putting them in the right positions.
“That’s probably the best example of his leadership,” Quinn told reporters.
Sunday was the worst, in more ways than one.
• You can hear Thom Loverro on “The Kevin Sheehan Show” podcast.
Contact the author
Please read our comment policy before commenting.