Commanders Head Coach Dan Quinn (Post-Game Transcript)
Opening statement:
“Let’s start off with the biggest play. Obviously to go for it, 4th-and-2 at the 26 – bold call. But, I would also say we were prepared for that moment. Didn’t love the execution, but we’ve been an excellent fourth down team. So going into it, we knew we would have to take our shots against a tough division team on the road. We thought that was an appropriate one. Certainly didn’t like the execution or the result, but we were prepared for that. And being bold in those moments, knowing we’d have some fourth downs. But that’s one we could fix. The third down on both sides was tough, especially offensively tonight. And, like I said, a game like this puts you through the resilience. And I’d love to say that the season is going to go all along smoothly, but you know, the adversity comes and hits. And, like I said, a tough division game on the road.”
On if Philadelphia’s momentum factored in to the 4th-and-2 decision:
“It did. Yeah, all of it did. But we also felt strongly – I guess I felt even more strongly there just because of that [momentum].”
On if a cut to QB Jayden Daniels’ hand affected the 4th-and-2 play:
“No, not for that one. I think the execution of the play just got junked up.”
On what he thought of Washington’s offensive performance:
“Always, when you talk about the entire thing, you want to say, ‘Where can we do it better?’ and ‘How can we hit it better?’ And so, more often than not, it’s an entire group. Can we hit this part? Can we hit this part? And last week, we had talked about opportunities that had been missed. And so, when we go back and look at the tape tonight, we’ll have a better sense for that. But more than anything, being able to get our explosive plays going. That’s part of who we are and how we do it. So it was good to have [Commanders RB] Brian [Robinson Jr.] back in it tonight. But not to have the execution that we were counting on, that left a mark.”
On what Philadelphia did to limit Washington’s passing attack:
“I’ll have to look at it more, but not anything different than what they had done. [Eagles Defensive Coordinator] Vic [Fangio]and their group have got a good group. They played aggressive, and we’ll be back at them again in five or six weeks. So we’ll get plenty of chances to look at it. But, yeah, this one, just not delivering like we were really ready to go fight for it. And when you don’t do that, obviously you’re pissed and you’re bummed.”
On if Washington was trying to be quicker with its final offensive drive:
“Yeah, we were trying to. Honestly, it wasn’t about going slow or that part. So yeah, we wanted to get the score in quick. Try to get it in before the two minute, for sure.”
On if Commanders QB Jayden Daniels has been limited by his rib injury:
“Early on, he was. Probably the first game back, and then it started trending better. But I think it’s fair to say the first game after Carolina, not sure who that was against. And then that’s an injury that gets better.”
On if the rib injury affected Commanders QB Jayden Daniels in this game:
“No.”
On the defense flying around in the first half and being tired near the end:
“Yeah, I think probably if you add reps from last [week] and this [week] together, I thought they emptied the tanks. And I felt the end of the rope getting close. That’s part of it – ‘Hey, we’ll go fourth down and keep it, and then go get this conversion and keep going. Not to say we were going to score a touchdown on that drive, but we were going to keep going and keep using more clock. That was all part of my decision. Like I said, bummed on the result, but going into it, we were prepared for the moment. As John had said earlier, that also factored into it, can we keep on going?”
On losing two games for the first time in a row and how the team will respond:
“We knew that adversity would come. It just does. That’s our game. That’s why we love it so much. There’s hard parts, and tonight’s hard. And in fact, I even said that. The last two games were tough. They test your resolve, and they build some of your resilience. It’s a difficult four or five game stretch, whatever it is. And it also emphasizes the ability to go close it, be there at the end and go win it. Those are the lessons for us to say to be the team we can be. Those have to go down on our terms, and we’ve been pretty good in that spot. So over the last two weeks, not to finish – and that’s not one side of the ball, that’s collectively finding that blood in the water and saying, ‘We’re going to go end this thing.’ And we’ll get there. But over the last two weeks, we weren’t able to demonstrate that and express that to the fullest level.”
On being aggressive on calling a timeout before the end of the half and then not calling a timeout on the last play:
“Yeah, there comes a time when it’s not worth going again. So I usually try to think, can we create a two minute for us at the end of the half? It’s one of the things we do well. But there is a time spot to say, once I get below that one, then I don’t. But I do try to – if we can take a shot to go, we’ll do it. But it is not going to be at 10 seconds or something along those lines. So if we can keep it in the parameters that would be from our game management spot, we’re really prepared in that space. But if it goes below, I don’t want to be reckless in that spot.”
On whether the eagles pressure on Commanders QB Jayden Daniels made him speed some things up:
“I’ll take a better look at the end. I’m sure that was the case, when you could pin your ears back and go. But not having our ability to keep converting and getting into third downs, that’s a big deal. We were prepared heading into it. That didn’t feel like a different game plan going into it. But their inside is a factor, so for our team to regroup, and get it going, and get railing about 10 days from now. A couple days for us to get our legs back under us, we’ll be good, and dig right back in before we get back home.”
On WR Terry McLaurin not getting a target until the third quarter:
“Yeah, it wasn’t going that way. Certainly, I didn’t feel specifically for him to go, but you’re right. Our explosive plays to get generated from [Commanders WR] Terry [McLaurin] is such a big part of what we do. And if somebody had to say, we are taking this player away with a double or something more than other guys, that’s a bigger factor. But I didn’t sense that was the case.”
On how if he views their losses as good tests or causes for concern:
“There is probably a combination of both. To be the heavy hitters that we want to be, you’ve got to be able to close and be in those, but there’s no moral victory side of things. It’s just, how do you learn the lesson to close? How do you learn to do that? That’s what we’re going to become, but losing the last two weeks, you knew this adversity is coming. It just does. Every team’s got it. Sometimes it’s earlier, sometimes it’s later. I know how we’ll respond based on the guys in the locker room and how hard they go for one another. So having this time here – it’s hard to get ready on Thursday, but they’ll need the extra couple days to clear it out, and get back to full practicing, and all the things that you know make us unique.”
On whether he will give the guys a couple of days off:
“They will. Yes.”