Washington Commanders head coach Dan Quinn said there was no discussion in leaving quarterback Jayden Daniels in the game, a prime-time blowout against the Seattle Seahawks in which Daniels suffered a gruesome left elbow injury.
With the benefit of hindsight, Quinn said, it could have played out differently.
‘The hindsight, you don’t want to think that way, where injury could take place,’ Quinn told reporters after the 38-14 loss. ‘You’re more conservative in that spot, running and handoffs and not have reads to go.’
Daniels had already missed three games due to injury – a knee ailment that kept him out Weeks 3 and 4, and a more-recent hamstring injury that caused him to miss the Commanders’ game six days prior against the Kansas City Chiefs.
Halfway through the fourth quarter and the Commanders trailing 38-7, Daniels took a shotgun snap from the Seahawks’ two-yard line. Seahawks linebacker Drake Thomas wrapped him up and flung the quarterback, listed at a generous 210 pounds. Daniels’ left arm landed awkwardly and bent in a way that no arm should.
Asked if they’d handle Daniels differently in the future, Quinn mostly demurred.
‘It’s really important we get that part right,’ he said. ‘And we will.’
The play that resulted in the injury is a run-pass option, Quinn said, but not a designed run for the quarterback. If they ran the play 50 times, then 50 times it would be a handoff or a pass, Quinn predicted.
‘Just the end result, I’m bummed,’ Quinn said.
The Commanders fell to 3-6 with a hefty dose of standalone games through the second half of the season. They’ve battled the injury bug all year long. Running back Austin Ekeler ruptured his Achilles. After a training camp contract standoff, wide receiver Terry McLaurin has been unable to stay healthy. Another wideout, Luke McCaffrey, left on the first play of the game against the Seahawks.
But the ‘Sunday Night Football’ result wasn’t due to injuries, Quinn said.
‘I don’t have to ask that question. I know what happened,’ Quinn said.
He elaborated. Penalties (eight for 87 yards) on both sides of the ball. The lack of stops, as the Seahawks hung 418 net yards on the defense. Washington’s offense gained 4.7 yards per play, but Seattle’s was going at a 8.7-yard-per-play clip.
‘I’m furious,’ Quinn said of his team’s performance.
‘Just (an) unacceptable performance … we missed it by a mile,’ he added.
And gutted for his quarterback.
The reaction across the Commanders’ locker room largely mirrored that of Quinn’s.
‘It’s gut-wrenching,’ right guard Sam Cosmi told the Washington Post.