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Dan Quinn let the clock run out and now the Commanders are 1-3-1

Washington tied the Giants 27-27 on Sunday after Jayden Daniels scrambled as time expired in overtime, costing the Commanders a makeable field goal and extending one of the most baffling collapses of the Quinn era.

Dan Quinn let the clock run out and now the Commanders are 1-3-1

Washington had the ball at the Giants' 24-yard line in overtime. No timeouts, but 12 seconds still on the clock. A spike, then a chip field goal, and the Commanders walk out of Northwest Stadium with their second win of the season. Instead, Jayden Daniels took a snap, scrambled without throwing the ball, got tackled, and time expired. Final score: 27-27. The NFL's first tie of the 2026 season, and Washington's record sits at 1-3-1.

That sequence alone would have been enough to ruin a Sunday in D.C. But it was only the last punch in a sequence of self-inflicted wounds that lasted the entire second half. The Commanders had led 27-13 in the fourth quarter. They needed only to hold on.

They couldn't.

Jameis Winston threw three touchdown passes in the final 15:44 of regulation, the last of them a 17-yard strike to Malik Nabers with 1:43 left to tie the game at 27. Nabers finished with 11 catches for 121 yards. The Commanders punted on their final two possessions of regulation and never got the ball back.

The overtime sequence

Washington won the coin flip and correctly deferred, letting the Giants go first. Giants kicker Dominic Zvada, who missed twice in regulation, pushed a 46-yard field goal wide left. The Commanders had their opening.

Daniels delivered. He completed two passes for 29 yards and ran for 16 more, moving Washington to the Giants' 24-yard line in the final minute. Field goal range. No timeouts, but plenty of time to spike it and kick.

What happened next is the part nobody in burgundy and gold wants to replay. Washington ran a play with 55 seconds left, stood around, snapped again with 12 seconds on the clock, and Daniels scrambled rather than throwing the ball away. He got tackled. Time ran out before the Commanders could get lined up for a spike. Dan Quinn watched from the sideline, furious, as Giants defenders celebrated as if they'd won and Washington players slumped over in disbelief.

CBS Sports called it "a shocking failure." Yahoo Sports said it "will be remembered for perhaps the worst clock management error in recent NFL history." Quinn acknowledged two separate mistakes on the final drive in his post-game press conference, per NFL.com.

It also bears noting that Giants head coach John Harbaugh handed Washington the whole situation in the first place, opting to hand the ball to Cam Skattebo rather than take a knee at the Washington 24-yard line with the Giants needing only to run out the clock. Skattebo fumbled. The Commanders recovered. And then they gave it right back by not spiking the ball.

The bigger picture

Washington is now 1-3-1, sitting fourth in the NFC East under the tandem of general manager Adam Peters and head coach Dan Quinn. The Commanders came into this season hoping to bounce back from a 5-12 year and end a five-year NFC East title drought. Five weeks in, they have one win.

Daniels' return from a dislocated left elbow was the one piece of genuine good news. He wore a chunky brace on the vulnerable joint and scored twice on the ground, looking comfortable in the pocket and willing to take off when the play broke down. He drove the offense into position to win in overtime. That part worked. Tight end Chig Okonkwo caught four of six targets for 60 yards, tying Terry McLaurin for the team lead in receptions on the day. McLaurin, who missed last week with a hamstring injury, played through it and was active.

The rest of the injury picture remains grim. Defensive tackle Jer'Zhan Newton was placed on injured reserve Monday with a pectoral injury, and linebacker Leo Chenal went on IR with a neck issue. Safety Percy Butler and defensive end Charles Omenihu were already out. The defense that blew the 14-point lead is now thinner.

Washington plays at San Francisco in Week 6, a road trip to face the 49ers that looked difficult before Sunday and looks considerably harder now. Receiver Van Jefferson, elevated for Week 5 and unused on offense, was returned to the practice squad Monday. Whether he gets another call-up may depend on whether Stefon Diggs can clear a hamstring issue.

Across the NFC East, nobody won in Week 5 either. The Cowboys and Eagles each let chances slip away. CBS Sports noted that the NFC East's winless week made NFL history. That gives Washington a sliver of mathematical comfort, but the Commanders still trail the division and now carry a tie on their record that will haunt them in any close playoff race.

Quinn's seat is warm. After the London loss to the Colts, after the overtime meltdown against a Giants team started by Jameis Winston, Yahoo Sports wrote flatly that the clock gaffe "will not get Dan Quinn off the hot seat." Daniels scrambled to the right, got wrapped up by a linebacker, and eight seconds disappeared off the clock before anyone in burgundy could line up again. That is the season in one play, so far.

Sources