Dan Quinn had a fourth quarter to forget in the Commanders' 26-18 loss to the Eagles on Thursday night.
In an important district game, Washington's coach decided not to kick a field goal despite the Eagles trailing 12-10 with 26 points and four outs on second base.
Star rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels bobbled the fourth-down snap, then rolled to his right and was brought down short of the line for a gain, then reversed on downs.
The Eagles scored a touchdown on Saquon Barkley's 23-yard run on the next possession.
After the game, Washington's first-year head coach explained the decision that ruined his team's chance to regain momentum after Philadelphia took the lead for the first time.
“It's a bold decision, but I can also say we were ready for that moment.” quinn said. “I don't like it that way, but we've been a good fourth-down team in the past, so going into the game we knew we had to give it a shot against a tough division team on the road. Ta.
“We thought it was appropriate. We certainly don't like the execution and the result, but we were preparing for it and we knew there was going to be a fourth down and we were bold in that moment.” That's a problem we can fix.”
Quinn is correct in his assessment of the team's incredible fourth down conversion rate.
Washington has the third-highest first and fourth down percentage in the NFL (85.71 percent), behind the Bills (91.67 percent) and Chiefs (88.89 percent).
Star receiver Terry McLaurin supported his coach's positive attitude after the game.
“We've been doing that all season'' McLaurin told reporters. “We're aggressive.”
Still, the analysis did not favor Quinn's decision.
Considered the gold standard when discussing NFL analytical decisions, Ben Baldwin analyzed how close the decision was to X.
According to his statistical model, a manager has a 44 percent chance of winning the game if he decides to kick a field goal, but a 42 percent chance of winning if he tries to kick a field goal. It was predicted.
Quinn's go-big-or-go-home strategy quickly backfired, with fans questioning his time management late in the game, and the team ended up trailing by 16 points.
While driving through Eagles territory, the head coach decided to run the ball three of four plays from the 30-yard line with 3:20 left.
The Managers netted just 15 yards on those plays and were given a two-minute warning.
Despite having a timeout before the two-minute warning, Washington was forced to attempt an onside kick after scoring a touchdown on a drive.
Quinn and the Commanders will next face the battered Cowboys in Week 11. They are currently 7-4, 1 1/2 games behind the 8-2 Eagles for first place in the NFC East.
