The Washington Commanders were perfect on fourth downs heading into Sunday’s Week 10 game against the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Steelers stopped the Commanders on fourth down for the first time this season.
On Thursday, Washington was back in action against the Philadelphia Eagles on Thursday Night Football. While the Commanders came up short, falling 26-18, they led for most of the game. The Eagles appeared to take control early in the fourth quarter, holding a 12-10 lead.
Washington was driving down the field midway through the fourth quarter when the offense stalled just short of the red zone. It would make sense that Quinn would take the three points in such a closely contested game.
That’s not what Quinn was thinking. He felt Washington’s fourth-down success this season put them in a good position to make it. It was fourth-and-2 from the 26-yard line. Quinn skipped the field goal, and Washington’s fourth-down play was doomed from the start, with Daniels being dropped for no gain.
Afterward, Quinn discussed his decision.
“Obviously to go for it, 4th-and-2 at the 26 – bold call,” Quinn said. “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.”
Quinn wasn’t wrong for being aggressive, especially against a division opponent on the road. But in this instance, Quinn knew his offense wasn’t playing well and passed up an opportunity to retake the lead.
Would it have made a difference in the outcome? Probably not, but you never know. The game changed once Daniels came up short.
