OPINION:
This would have been a particularly sweet win for Washington Commanders coach Dan Quinn.
Not just for the numerous obvious reasons – breaking a six-game losing streak; winning on national television; scoring an upset over the six-point favorite Denver Broncos, the new darling of NFL media; giving the hometown fans something to wave in the face of the thousands of Broncos fans who invaded Northwest Stadium Sunday night; and just because winning is more fun than losing.
A win for Quinn, though, would have been personal.
In 2022, the Broncos interviewed Quinn for their head coaching job, to replace Vic Fangio. They hired Nathaniel Hackett instead.
Nathaniel Hackett!
Denver fired Hackett after one season, and Quinn interviewed for the job again in 2023. That time, he withdrew before they could pass over him for Sean Payton.
He’ll have to settle for scaring the heck out of the Broncos with a 27-26 overtime loss — and the pleasure that comes with a valiant defeat.
One of those pleasures was not having to stand before the media after the game and declare, like he has in different versions throughout this losing streak, now at seven straight, how embarrassed he was.
“What I can say is I can speak for every coach and player and just an unacceptable performance by us tonight,” Quinn said after their 38-14 loss to the Seattle Seahawks four weeks ago.
This week, Quinn could stand up there and be proud of the performance he, his coaching staff, and his players put on against a Denver team with one of the toughest defenses in the league.
“I thought coming off the field, it just felt like those are the games you do love to be a part of, the absolute battles,” he told reporters after the game. “Two teams, like going for it, throwing punches back and forth and, you know, I hate the outcome, but I loved the fight.
“It’s been tough as hell for a while,” Quinn said. “And I thought our guys played hard as hell. All improving. I saw where we can get better and obviously there’s plenty of room to continue to do that, but man, it was nice to have some guys back.”
Taking solace in a loss has its dangers. For this franchise, it seemed like a measurement standard they had left behind. But having receiver Terry McLaurin (seven catches for 96 yards and one touchdown), who has missed seven games this season, and safety Will Harris, who was on the field for the first time since Washington’s 41-24 win Sept. 21 over the Las Vegas Raiders, seemed to have an impact and reason for optimism in a season destroyed by injuries.
The Commanders rolled up 419 yards, their highest total this season.
I’m not sure receiver Treylon Burks qualifies as getting “some guys back,” since he’s only been here since October and was signed to the practice squad after the former No. 1 was released by the Tennessee Titans.
But after getting on the field for two games, he broke his finger in the 44-22 loss to the Detroit Lions and missed a game.
He made his presence felt Sunday night with what may be the catch of the year in the NFL, a five-yard, one-handed touchdown grab on a pass from quarterback Marcus Mariota, who, despite a disastrous second quarter interception, nearly carried the team to the win, answering back every time the Broncos seemingly put the Commanders away.
“I thought one that just had like a warrior performance was Marcus,” Quinn said. “You know, just kind of willing it on some plays, using his arm, using his legs.”
Mariota is a valuable backup quarterback. The real deal, though, will likely be on the field next week when the Commanders travel to Minneapolis to face the Vikings, who lost 26-0 to the Seahawks Sunday.
Jayden Daniels practiced last week but was not cleared for contact. There is no reason to believe that clearance won’t come this week, so the league’s Offensive Rookie of the Year last season will likely be on the field as he tries to salvage a rocky second season.
A win over the Vikings would damage Washington’s draft standing for 2026. But, like valiant losses, those goals often measure losing franchises. The Commanders need to leave those standards behind.
• Catch Thom Loverro on “The Kevin Sheehan Show” podcast.
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