Dan Quinn made a really gutsy call but it came at the wrong time and cost the Commanders a win against the Eagles
To be clear: Personally, I'd much rather a coach take the aggressive route than the passive one. Far too often we see guys take the "safe" path in a game where nothing is really safe.Washington Commanders head coach Dan Quinn took the aggressive route against the Philadelphia Eagles on Thursday night, the only problem is […]
To be clear: Personally, I'd much rather a coach take the aggressive route than the passive one. Far too often we see guys take the "safe" path in a game where nothing is really safe.
Washington Commanders head coach Dan Quinn took the aggressive route against the Philadelphia Eagles on Thursday night, the only problem is he decided to do so at the wrong time.
Jayden Daniels and co. faced a 3rd-and-1 at the Eagles' 25-yard-line, but Brian Robinson was stuffed behind the line of scrimmage for a loss of one yard. Instead of attempting a 44-yard field goal attempt with Zane Gonzalez, who's been a perfect 3-of-3 since joining Washington, Quinn opted to go for it on 4th and 2. The irony, there, is Gonzalez's long with the Commanders is 48-yards and he also made a 45-yarder earlier against the Eagles.
The play never stood a chance. Daniels bobbled the snap, Sam Cosmi and Nick Allegretti ran into each other, and then Daniels was tackled for around two more yards behind the line of scrimmage.
In this instance, it makes way more sense to kick the field goal and take the 13-12 lead. Points were at a premium on Thursday night and the Eagles had already taken seven points off the board, themselves, in the form of two missed field goal attempts and a missed extra point attempt by Jake Elliott.
The snowball effect quickly turned into an avalanche. Saquon Barkley took it 23-yards to the house on the Eagles' subsequent drive and then Daniels threw an interception on the Commanders' ensuing possession. What made it all come crashing down, however, was Barkley's 39-yard touchdown that put the game on ice.
'[It was] a bold call," Quinn said after the game. "But I would also say we were prepared for that moment. [I] don't love the execution, but we've been an excellent fourth down team, so going into it, we knew we'd have to take our shots against a tough division team on the road. We thought that was appropriate. I certainly don't like the execution and the result, but we were prepared for that."
Coming into the game, the Commanders were tied for first place with the Buffalo Bills in fourth down conversion rate at 91.7%, so Quinn's point about the team's fourth down prowess is a stout one. However, it's still a good shot at taking the lead, compared to extending the drive.
It's the second week in a row that Quinn has made questionable decisions on fourth down that have had a big effect on the game. Mainly, the decision to go for it on 4th and 9 last week against the Pittsburgh Steelers instead of punting the ball and pinning Russell Wilson and co. deep.
Except this time around, the consequence was much more direct. Who knows how the game goes if Washington is up 13-12, instead of the Eagles getting the ball back at their own 26 and smelling blood in the water.
Fortunately, Quinn and co. have the mini-bye to go over everything and correct course moving forward. Nothing is even close to "panic mode", but the last two weeks are certainly eyebrow-raising and will be something to monitor moving forward.
