Dan Quinn Smashes His Headset in Frustration After Commanders Fumble Easy Win Because of Poor Clock Management

Washington and New York Giants played a draw after the Commanders mismanaged the clock in overtime.

Dan Quinn Smashes His Headset in Frustration After Commanders Fumble Easy Win Because of Poor Clock Management

Dan Quinn smashes his headset after time runs out in overtime (Image via IMAGO/X)

Dan Quinn has struggled with clock management as the head coach of the Washington Commanders. Sunday’s rivalry game against the New York Giants became a classic example of how poor clock management can ruin chances of victory.

Washington led by fourteen points after Jayden Daniels scrambled for his second touchdown four minutes into the fourth quarter. The Giants equalized with back-to-back touchdowns from Jameis Winston.

Washington gained about 19 yards in three plays before Quinn burned a timeout. Rather than running the ball, Daniels threw a pass to get a better placement to kick a field goal. However, his intended pass to Dyami Brown fell short. Quinn couldn’t use his final timeout.

Throwing the ball out of bounds was another option. It would have stopped the clock, giving Drew Stephens a chance to hit a 55+ yard field goal. He scored from 40 earlier on.

The game went to overtime, and the Giants missed a field goal on their first try. Washington punted, and the game entered sudden death. Giants running back Cam Skattebo fumbled on the eighth play, handing the home team a great chance to win.

Daniels managed six plays in the remaining 1:55 seconds. Rachaad White’s two yards failed to get the Commanders into field goal range. With no more timeouts left, a pile of Commanders players tried to snap the ball quickly.

The match referee had to navigate around a sea of Commanders players to touch the ball. It ate up the remaining seconds. Cameras caught Dan Quinn smashing his headset in disgust.

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Dan Quinn takes responsibility for his poor clock management in the Giants tie

Once again, the Commanders made the cardinal mistake of not kicking a field goal. These days, kickers are making 60+ field goals. Washington should have trusted Stephens. Even the ownership noticed it.

Dan Quinn Smashes His Headset in Frustration After Commanders Fumble Easy Win Because of Poor Clock Management
Jayden Daniels (Image via IMAGO)

Basketball Hall of Famer and Commanders minority owner Magic Johnson argued on X that Quinn should have hit a field goal.

I’m in total disbelief my Commanders had such poor clock management in today’s overtime game against the Giants. All we had to do was kick the field goal and we would have won the game!

Magic Johnson via X

At the post-game presser, Quinn admitted that he could have handled the situation better. “[The] right call is honestly we can go clock it early… That is my responsibility nobody else’s,” the head coach said.

Jayden Daniels’ impressive performance went to waste

The Commanders rushed Daniels back to the starting roster for this game. He lined up under center while wearing a massive protective strap around his left elbow. In Week 2, that same elbow got twisted badly, forcing Daniels to miss the following two games.

Marcus Mariota and seventh-round rookie Athan Kaliakmanis shared snaps. Last week, Mariota picked up an injury, leaving the Commanders with Kaliakmanis. Despite doctors’ warnings, the coaches put Daniels in on Sunday.

The 25-year-old played low-risk football. He completed 17 of 25 passes for 199 yards and zero touchdowns. He added two touchdowns and 109 rushing yards on 9 carries.

Running back Jacory Croskey-Merrit ran 11 times for 82 yards and scored one touchdown. Washington outgained New York by over 100 yards on the ground.

At the same time, Washington’s defense allowed Jameis Winston two touchdowns in the final quarter, and Quinn’s mistakes cost them an important victory. The Commanders are 1-3-1 while the Giants are 3-1-1. Next week, Washington takes on the 5-0 San Francisco 49ers.

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