At 1-4-1, Dan Quinn Says Trial and Error Is Over for Washington’s Offense — Commanders Daily

The Washington Commanders entered their bye week at 1-4-1, with more questions than answers as they look back on how they got here. This team started the season hell-bent on moving away from Jayden Daniels having to play hero ball. Now the team can only function correctly if he does. In the first half against the 49ers, the offense put up 90 yards and two first downs, then Daniels came out in the second and finished with 300 passing yards, two touchdowns, and only four rushes for 10 yards. Hard to imagine, but both versions of the offense showed up in one game.

Quinn said some things should look different when Washington returns: "I think it feels smaller to me only because we’ve been digging in...I’ve been pushing that envelope with the staff to get us a little more streamlined, a little more things that we can nail at a big spot," Quinn said. "So I would say it’s more tweak. But after I go through, there’s going to be some things that will look differently when we come back. It’s not going to be a new system. It’s not going to be new plays, but I do think you’ll feel the systems be more precise."

Quinn wants a smaller set of things the team can execute repeatedly. He praised the offense for protecting the ball but said he wants more explosive plays. "Sometimes that can mean streamlining to say these are the eight things, 10 things that we’re going to over and over hit. ... As the first part of the season goes, there’s some trial and some error, but now that we’re this far along, no more trial. This is how we want to get down." I took Quinn’s ‘eight or 10 things’ comment as a plan to narrow what Washington leans on after the bye, rather than a promise to run only eight or 10 plays the rest of the season.

Daniels’ second half against San Francisco gives the staff something to build on, but the game ended with him taking an 18-yard sack. That’s a good place to start the review.

Quinn also admitted the offensive line wasn't up to snuff against San Francisco and that they'll keep searching for the right combination. "I thought this performance was below the standard that we’ve set for ourselves at offensive line...I wasn’t pleased with the standard that we have set for our group, and I don’t think we met that yet," Quinn said. The unit allowed Daniels to be sacked four times Monday night against the Niners.

When discussing the defense giving up 303 total yards and 17 first downs in the first half, Quinn quickly pointed to pre-snap issues. "It’s the pre-snap. Can you win at that? And that can mean urgency, call selection, and getting these guys' cleats in the grass to go play decisively and fast...On the first and second downs, that’s what I’d like to see...Overall, too many explosives for me in the pass game to make consistently good defense quarter after quarter, drive after drive." It seems Quinn has been saying that last line since he was hired; unfortunately for him, the explosives may be his undoing.

Washington won’t play again until November 1 against Philadelphia. Quinn has time to narrow the menu, settle the line, and get the defense on the same page before then. If the same problems show up against the Eagles, it won’t be because he didn’t know what needed fixing.