The Washington Commanders and New York Giants tied 27-27, but that’s not the biggest storyline from the game.
Quarterback Jayden Daniels drove the Commanders into field-goal range, seconds away from securing a win. But instead of spiking the ball to stop the clock, he snapped it, scrambled to the side, and went down.
This allowed the final seconds of overtime to tick away.
Players, coaches, and fans watching at home were left baffled by the decision. Even Commanders co-owner Magic Johnson voiced his frustration on social media, posting that he was in “total disbelief” over the team’s late-game clock management.
“I’m in total disbelief my Commanders had such poor clock management in today’s overtime game against the Giants,” Johnson wrote. “All we had to do was kick the field goal and we would have won the game.”
When asked about the play after the game, Daniels kept it short and brief with reporters.
“We’ve gotta relay that as an offense,” Daniels said. “It starts with everyone — top down. Ultimately it’s on me.”
Similar to Daniels, Commanders head coach Dan Quinn took full accountability. In fact, Quinn absolved Daniels of any blame for the final play.
“The sequence of that does not fall on him,” Quinn said. “It’s an out-of-bounds throw or a ‘clock’. That has to come from me.”
Quinn also second-guessed his decision to not go for the field goal sooner.
“We can finish the kick earlier, we don’t need to gain more yards,” Quinn said. “That’s on me.”
With the tie, the Commanders moved to 1-3-1 on the season. Sure, they didn’t lose any distance from the 3-1-1 Giants in the NFC East race. However, that didn’t change the feeling among those in Washington.
“[It] feels like a loss,” Quinn said.
