“Did Not Know What Down It Was?” – Dan Quinn’s Puzzled Reaction Has Fans Questioning His Place as Commanders HC

Dan Quinn lost track of Washington's downs and missed the chance to kick a field goal.

“Did Not Know What Down It Was?” – Dan Quinn’s Puzzled Reaction Has Fans Questioning His Place as Commanders HC

Dan Quinn (Image via IMAGO/X)

Dan Quinn keeps digging himself deeper with simple coaching mistakes. Last week, Quinn’s decision to run the ball in overtime instead of kicking a field goal cost Washington a win over the Giants. On Monday against the San Francisco 49ers, Quinn forgot what set of downs his team was on and went for a play even though he wanted to kick a field goal.

Quinn has been coaching for a long time. Washington is his second head coaching gig. The Commanders appointed him in 2024. The same year, he drafted former Heisman Trophy winner Jayden Daniels. Together, Quinn and Daniels led the Commanders to their first NFC Championship appearances in three decades.

However, the Commanders dropped to just five wins the following year after Daniels picked up a season-ending injury. That losing trend has continued in 2026. Washington was 1-3-1 prior to facing the undefeated Niners at Levi’s Stadium on Monday.

The Niners led by 13 points thanks to touchdowns from George Kittle and Christian McCaffrey. Washington’s kicker closed the gap to ten with a field goal.

Early in the second quarter, Daniels gained about 46 yards on six plays. Daniels threw the ball out of bounds, which puzzled Troy Aikman in the ESPN booth. However, Dan Quinn in the Washington dugout had lost track of the downs.

RELATED
Top 3 NFL MVP Favorites After Week 5 – Feat. Brock Purdy

Fans blast Dan Quinn for poor clock management

After back-to-back punts, the Commanders found themselves in a decent position inside the 49ers’ half. A few more yards would have given kicker Drew Stevens a chance to kick a second field goal.

"Did Not Know What Down It Was?" - Dan Quinn's Puzzled Reaction Has Fans Questioning His Place as Commanders HC
Jayden Daniels (Image via IMAGO)

Daniels threw the ball away on fourth down. The referee penalized running back Rachaad White for an illegal shift, but the Niners declined the extra yard as it was a turnover on downs.

Meanwhile, the ESPN camera caught Quinn mumbling to himself. His voice wasn’t recorded, but expert lip reader Warren Sharp deciphered Quinn’s monologue. The 56-year-old thought Washington still had fourth down, and he wanted to kick a field goal. He signaled the field goal unit to run to take its position. However, he quickly realized they had already played fourth down, and it was the Niners’ first down.

Fans on social media went bonkers after noticing this basic mistake from a veteran coach.

Quinn defended himself at the post-game presser. He said via Nicki Jhabvala of The Athletic:

Definitely knew it was fourth down… [We] were going for it… We knew we had to go for some fourth downs to be bold in the game. I didn’t think it was going to be a 17-14 game; I thought it was probably gonna be a 28-30 game.

Washington fought back in the second half. Daniels threw two touchdown passes to Stefon Diggs and Treylon Burks. It ended 23-17. The Commanders are 1-4-1. Coincidentally, every NFC East team lost. In fact, they haven’t won a game since Week 4.

Also Read: