Jayden Daniels echoes what a lot of people are saying after Commanders' disappointing loss to Steelers
A one-point loss is always going to be tough, disappointing, frustrating, and/or whatever related adjectives one can recall. But the Washington Commanders' 28-27 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers is an especially frustrating one. Sure, the controversial call on Zach Ertz's fourth down reception that looked like it was enough to convert the first down weighs a […]
A one-point loss is always going to be tough, disappointing, frustrating, and/or whatever related adjectives one can recall.
But the Washington Commanders' 28-27 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers is an especially frustrating one.
Sure, the controversial call on Zach Ertz's fourth down reception that looked like it was enough to convert the first down weighs a ton and people are going to be debating that over the next several days. That's nowhere near the catalyst behind the loss, however, as multiple mistakes and bad decisions led to the Commanders' third loss of the season.
Primarily, the Commanders left a lot out on the field when it comes to big plays. Most notably, Jayden Daniels was off early-on, Dyami Brown dropped what would've been a surefire touchdown, Olamide Zaccheaus muffed a punt that led to a Steelers touchdown, Zach Ertz had a bad drop that forced a 3rd and 11 instead of what would've been a 1st and 10, and lastly there was Daniels' overthrow to a wide-open Luke McCaffrey on 2nd and 8 late in the game.
On defense, there's obviously the crucial game-winning touchdown Benjamin St Juste allowed on 3rd and 9, among other examples. The Commanders also committed a few costly penalties and Dan Quinn made two bad decisions on 4th down that helped Washington lose the game.
In a large sense, the Commanders were their own worst enemy. That's not taking anything way from the Steelers, either. Washington simply made too many mistakes to win in Week 10.
"For sure, yeah. I mean, anybody will say when we watch the film [that] we missed some opportunities," Daniels told reporters when asked if he felt like the team left opportunities on the field. "So, it was, for sure, something that we left out on the field, but there's nothing we can do about it now. We'll just move onto the next [game] and get better…
"… The little things always add up. Everybody sees just the one big thing and [the] one big play, but it's the little things that add up. How we could've executed the drive before maybe, you know, we didn't kick a field goal, and in that second half we go down and score [it'd] be a different game. So there's always little things that always add up to the game."
The field goal Daniels is referring to is the drive that ended in a 4th and 4 from the Steelers 23. Zane Gonzalez hit his attempt and made it a 27-21 game. Little did the Commanders offense know, however, that it'd be the unit's last points of the day.
And while Daniels' point about execution is correct, Dan Quinn could've also went for it in that situation.
"I would hope that the missed opportunities are the lesson to apply," Quinn said after the game. "Because I thought, you know, it was just maybe a little uncharacteristic. I thought maybe a few drops, maybe a few plays that weren't quite like us. I love that we're in this kind of fight. These are the kind of ones that you need to build some resilience and some resolve, but we are establishing that kind of toughness and identity that we want to be about."
The Commanders are going to get over this one, quick. Primarily because they have a Thursday night matchup against the Philadelphia Eagles and Philly could be sitting atop the NFC East if it beats the Cowboys in Week 10.
Fortunately, it's a team that never quits fighting and that should come in handy as it tries to navigate its way moving forward.
