Commanders coach Dan Quinn and QB Jayden Daniels both accept responsibility for time management gaffe in tie vs. Giants

The big question from the end of the Washington Commanders' incredible tie on Sunday was, "What were Jayden Daniels and head coach Dan Quinn thinking?" They provided some answers after the game.

A clash with the NFC East rival New York Giants reached the final minute of overtime, when Washington had the ball on second-and-8 in field goal territory with 13 seconds left and no timeouts.

A game-winning field goal would have been roughly 42 yards. Commanders rookie kicker Drew Stevens hasn't missed any of his seven career attempts from inside 50 yards, though he did miss an extra-point attempt earlier in the game.

Calling even a single offensive play in that situation is unimaginably risky, as failing to stop the clock will cost you a chance at that field goal. And yet, the Commanders appeared to call a pass play, then watched in horror as Daniels scrambled, got taken down then couldn't get another play off to spike the ball.

Game over. A 27-27 tie.

The Commanders can't get the play off in time and this game ends in a tie pic.twitter.com/WmPp6q5hU0

- NFL (@NFL) October 11, 2026

In the well-stocked pantheon of NFL time management gaffes, that is definitely up there. As Quinn's headset can attest.

Dan Quinn Destroyed His Headset On The Ground After This Mistake.

He's Furious. pic.twitter.com/2454ONncsk

- SM Highlights (@SMHighlights1) October 11, 2026

Quinn immediately took the blame while speaking with reporters after the game, admitting the correct call would have been to simply to stop the clock via a spike or throwaway out of bounds:

"Leaving tonight with a tie feels like a loss. The last sequence - we throw it out of bounds, we clock it, you give yourself a chance to kick it. We pride ourselves on those moments at the end of the game. After the first-down run, still trying to gain more for the kick. Right call is obviously we can go clock it early. Don't put ourselves in that spot, and that's my responsibility, no one else's."

For his part, Daniels didn't offer much clarity when asked what he was trying to do on the fateful play, mostly responding with some form of, "We've just to to be better." He did acknowledge his responsibility, while noting there was some sort of breakdown in communication:

"We've got to stop the clock. We've got to know the situation. We've got to relay that as an offense. It starts with everybody, top down. Ultimately it's on me."

Quinn, however, rejected the idea that Daniels was to blame:

"The sequencing of that does not fall on him. It's an outside throw or a clock. Those are the two, an out-of-bounds throw or a clock. That has to come from me. I don't have to put him into that spot. I can do that earlier. We can finish the kick earlier, we don't need to gain more yards. So that's on me."

Giants head coach John Harbaugh, meanwhile, clearly knew he had gotten away with something.

Dan Quinn would like that one back.IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect / REUTERS

Ultimately, the play was a failure on both critical fronts, of both concept and execution. Quinn and Daniels both should have understood the resources they were working with and acted accordingly, but the egg is probably going to be more on Quinn's face given that he has the job tasked with making decisions about timeouts and the clock. It's hard to blame Daniels too much for running a play Quinn told him to do, even if the obviously correct course of action was freely available.

It's enough to put Quinn on the hot seat with a 1-3-1 record, if he wasn't there already. And the ending spoiled what could have been a triumphant return for Daniels, who was making his return from a knee injury.