Dan Quinn's postgame message to the Commanders shows they haven't quite figured out one key problem yet
The Washington Commanders (7-5) are a brand new team under a brand new coaching staff and front office. They have a rookie quarterback, no matter how often he looks and plays like a veteran.So, naturally, there are going to be some growing pains along the way. Especially during an NFL season that consists of 18 […]
The Washington Commanders (7-5) are a brand new team under a brand new coaching staff and front office. They have a rookie quarterback, no matter how often he looks and plays like a veteran.
So, naturally, there are going to be some growing pains along the way. Especially during an NFL season that consists of 18 weeks.
One of the Commanders' biggest pains, and it was talked about heading into their matchup against the Dallas Cowboys, is learning how to close out/finish games. That also applies to starting off slow. Washington experienced both sides of the spectrum on Sunday – both a slow start then the inability to take the game into overtime. So, it's clear the team still has some learning to do and head coach Dan Quinn made sure they were aware of that after the game.
"What I told the team after the game was that this is the most challenged we've been in our time together. And I remind them it's not enough to learn the lessons, but we have to apply them," Quinn told reporters after the game. "I love the fight that we have, [but in] fight games, close games – we've got to apply them. [Whether it's] learning the lesson of finishing the ball, whatever that might apply to – we've got to make sure we do that.
"So I reminded them it's never about one play. That execution falls on all of us, players and coaches, and I firmly believe that. And so we'll get to it tomorrow. We'll look at the tape and get right to the truth of it all."
Coming into the contest, the Commanders had been outscored 44-22 in their four losses. They were outscored, 24-17, in the fourth quarter against the Cowboys, which now puts them at a 68-39 disadvantage through five losses. However, at the same time, they never should've really been in that spot since Dallas made all kinds of mistakes early-on and Washington couldn't take advantage.
"We've been battle-tested as a first-year group more than most," said Quinn. "That's why I said what I said at the beginning: It's not just learning them and being in these, you know, end-of-game moments, it's about winning them. We've won some, [but] I want to make sure, like every time we go… [we know] this is the time to go capture it.
"I love that we're never out of the fight, but I do want to make sure it doesn't have to go to that space. And that part is one that we're gonna work hard on to get right."
The Commanders allowed the Cowboys to hang around and when they had a chance to come back, they couldn't get the job done. No matter if it boils down to Austin Seibert's missed PAT – they shouldn't have been in that situation to begin with.
Letting bad teams hang around all game long is a recipe for disaster and once it's experienced, it's easily one of the biggest lessons to learn in the NFL. After beating up on bad teams all season long, the Commanders finally got a taste of what's that like.
Will they learn from it? You bet. But as Quinn notes, it has to be applied in order for it to actually matter. We'll see if Washington grows from this situation or if it's more of the same when they host a 3-8 Tennessee Titans team in Week 13.
