Dan Quinn made the wrong decision on two separate occasions and both calls helped Commanders lose to Steelers
Man, talk about a fight. The Washington Commanders (7-3) gave the Pittsburgh Steelers (7-2) all the AFC North counterparts could handle and it was literally inches that made the difference in a one-point win for Russell Wilson and co.As with most NFL games, there was some controversy involved. The play that will be debated up […]
Man, talk about a fight. The Washington Commanders (7-3) gave the Pittsburgh Steelers (7-2) all the AFC North counterparts could handle and it was literally inches that made the difference in a one-point win for Russell Wilson and co.
As with most NFL games, there was some controversy involved. The play that will be debated up until Thursday night's matchup with the Philadelphia Eagles (6-2) is Zach Ertz's catch on 4th and 9 that came up just inches short. It looked like Ertz initially converted the first down, but the referees upheld the call on the field that he was short after reviewing the play.
And while the play is certainly debatable and can be argued either way, the decision to go for it on that down and distance was a bad one, in itself. The Commanders were down one point, at midfield, had all three timeouts and there was still 1:28 left in the game.
The right call was to punt the ball away with Tress Way, one of the best punters in the game, and then proceed to pin the Steelers deep and stop them. If successful, the Commanders would've gotten the ball back in really good field position and still needing just a field goal to win the game.
It was the exact situation they faced after failing to convert the 4th and 9, except they would've started in much better position to attempt the game-winning field goal. If it was a 4th-and-4 or less, sure, go for it. But a 4th and 9 was simply way too far, in this particular situation, to go for it.
There's also the fact that if the Steelers are pinned deep, then they aren't even going to try and draw the Commanders offsides on fourth down like they did during the game. The whole reason they tried to do that was because they were in Washington territory. Because the Commanders went for it instead of punting it.
It's a bit ironic because the 4th down that Dan Quinn should've gone for was the 4th and 4 at the Steelers 23. Instead, Quinn opted to kick a field goal that made it a 27-21 game. Sure, it made it to where Wilson and the Steelers offense had to get a touchdown to win instead of a field goal to tie, but the Commanders offense was playing well at the time and it was a manageable down and distance. Especially when considering what Jayden Daniels can do with his legs.
There's no guarantee they get a touchdown on that drive, but they obviously would've kept the drive going and could've still settled for three points if they faced another fourth down. The ceiling would've been a 10-point lead instead of a six-point lead and there's a world where the Ertz catch is not needed, nor existent.
In a game like this, every moment matters. Quinn is still the top candidate for Coach of the Year, in my eyes, but he made a couple of bad decisions in this game and it helped the Commanders lose to the Steelers.
