Commanders coach isn't taking any excuses for a big problem that's costing the team games
The Washington Commanders (7-4) are still having a great season despite back-to-back losses in Weeks 10 and 11. There's one key factor in the losses that needs to be corrected moving forward, however, and Dan Quinn and co. are well aware of it.The team, especially the defense, needs to learn how to finish out games […]
The Washington Commanders (7-4) are still having a great season despite back-to-back losses in Weeks 10 and 11. There's one key factor in the losses that needs to be corrected moving forward, however, and Dan Quinn and co. are well aware of it.
The team, especially the defense, needs to learn how to finish out games against good teams in the fourth quarter. The Commanders have been outscored by a combined total of 44-22 in the final 15 minutes of their four losses. They've "won" the fourth quarter just once over that span, when they outscored the Baltimore Ravens, 10-3, in Week 6.
Other than that, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers bested them 14-6, the Pittsburgh Steelers hung the game-winning play on the Commanders defense to give them a 7-0 edge, and then the Philadelphia Eagles boat raced them, 20-6, on Thursday Night Football.
It goes beyond just the box score, though. A lot of the end results are more of the back-breaker type plays than they are the overall product of the defense. I mean, Mike Williams' touchdown catch with under under 2:30 minutes left in Week 10 and Saquon Barkley's back-to-back rushing touchdowns with under 5:00 to go in last week's loss to the Eagles are prime examples of just that.
Commanders defensive coordinator Joe Whitt Jr. isn't making excuses, though. He knows its his job to make sure his defense can close a game out and that's what he intends to figure out, moving forward.
"It's just disappointing that we played defensively well for 53 minutes, but it's a 60 minute game, and so we talk about finishing winning moments, and we didn't get that done, and it's disappointing," Whitt Jr. told reporters Thursday. "I know people want to say that we got tired. Well, that's why we roll with a deep crew.
"I don't believe in excuses. We're here to win and and we got to win. And so I thought the men did play hard, though, and they executed the plan the way that we wanted to go. They ran and hit and for 53 minutes and [it looked] the way that it's supposed to look. And now I got to do a better job of getting us to play 60 minutes of football."
Allowing zero room for excuse is the exact mindset to have, but there definitely needs to be some kind of balance/nuance to the approach. Because like Whitt Jr. said, specifically against the Eagles, the Commanders defense did play well for the vast majority of the game. You don't want to just wipe that from the table. At the same time though, the message around finishing has to get conveyed in the correct manner. It has to stick, as well.
"You don't want to negate, you know, 50 some-minutes of good straining, good plays to go, but you also don't want to minimize the other part," Quinn told reporters Wednesday. "And the thing that I'd said, you know, for the players, is, like being battle tested is really important, and it doesn't happen during the easy moments. It happens during the hard moments and those are the ones that you do have to go through.
"It sucks when you're going through them, but you do have to go and [realize], okay, this is the finishing time. This is the finishing moment, offensively, defensively, teams, whatever that looks like."
In all honesty, this is a very good experience for a Commanders team with young pieces at important positions. Building blocks like Jayden Daniels, Brian Robinson, Brandon Coleman, Mike Sainristil, and others got to ride the wave of success and see what that's like for the first nine weeks of the season. Now, they're trying to figure out what needs to happen to get back to that point and after back-to-back losses.
An experience like that can really help shape a player's career, so it's good these guys are getting a taste of it all as they continue to find their feet under Quinn. It'll also help them help him build the culture and make sure the message gets across to all.
"It's more than just mindset of finishing. It's the execution of it all," said Quinn. "And so I love that our team is becoming battle tested. Like I said, it's not easy to go through, and it does not happen during the easy moments."
