With 10 minutes left in the fourth quarter, the Washington Commanders trailed the Philadelphia Eagles 17-9. Quarterback Jayden Daniels, who had struggled all day along with the rest of Washington’s offense, marched down the field showing the first sign of life on that side of the ball since the second quarter. The Commanders managed to push into Philadelphia territory, all the way to the Eagles’ 10-yard line.

And on 3rd-and-6, Daniels found new addition wide receiver Stefon Diggs on a beautiful slant route into the end zone for a touchdown. It wasn’t all positive, however, as Diggs’ made a mistake that would end up hurting the Commanders.

Diggs’ first touchdown as a Commander came with a costly celebration

Diggs, entering his 12th season in the NFL, decided to celebrate by launching himself into the goalpost padding, which automatically results in an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty.

Washington, being down eight points, was then forced to settle for a PAT instead of a two-point conversion. This was a crucial mistake given that the Commanders had already left points on the board from a prior missed field goal & a prior blocked extra point in this game. Every single point mattered in order to catch up with Philadelphia.

Missing the opportunity to realistically attempt to tie the game on a 2-point conversion was a critical error by Diggs.

Quinn, Daniels react in postgame press conference

In the team’s postgame press conference, coach Dan Quinn confirmed that Washington would have gone for 2 had it not been for the penalty.

Daniels, when asked about the situation, stated, “we have to be smarter than that.” He also noted, “there’s a time and place for everything.”

Quinn also noted in his postgame press conference that he spoke with Diggs, saying, “he knows better in that space and he knows that.”

Quinn is a coach who will do everything he can to not throw a player under the bus. It’s a big reason why players love playing for him, because even when they make truly game-altering decisions in the win or loss column, Quinn stands by his guys. I respect that.

This cannot happen again

Here’s the point: This is an error that cannot happen again. With the NFC being so tight this season & the entire NFC East looking competitive, this is a mistake that not only cost the Commanders a chance at a Week 1 win but it could be a win they need later in the season. It’s a long season though, and I hope that Diggs’s play can supersede this one very unfortunate mistake in a critical NFC East matchup.