Dan Quinn says Jayden Daniels should have taken a shot instead of throwing the ball away on fourth down

Washington Commanders coach Dan Quinn says Jayden Daniels should have kept the play alive on a key fourth down in Monday night's 23-17 loss to the San Francisco 49ers.

The play

Early in the second quarter, Washington faced fourth-and-2 from the 49ers' 13-yard line. Daniels dropped back, felt the pressure and rolled to his right with two defenders chasing him, including linebacker Fred Warner.

A flag flew in front of him. With no open receiver and no room to run for the first down, Daniels threw the ball away.

"Even when you know there's a penalty, you still take your shot, man, to go throw it, complete it," Quinn said. "You don't know if it's gonna get picked up."

The flag was not on the defense. It was an illegal shift on Washington. San Francisco declined it because the pass fell incomplete.

"I didn't know. It could have been offside, it could have been on us," Daniels said.

A second late-game lesson in two weeks

The throwaway came a week after Daniels did not throw the ball away with eight seconds left in overtime against the New York Giants. He was tackled as time ran out, which took away a chance at a 42-yard game-winning field goal. Quinn and offensive coordinator David Blough both blamed themselves for not calling a spike.

Daniels still had a big night. He completed 29 of 40 passes for 300 yards and two touchdowns. He led Washington back from a 20-3 halftime deficit and drove the Commanders deep into 49ers territory late with a chance to take the lead.

"Like most things with him, there's some plays that you said, that's an incredible throw," Quinn said. "And there's other ones I'd love him to stay through the [read]."

Playing through an elbow injury

Daniels ran just four times for 10 yards against a fast 49ers defense. He was playing his second game with a brace on the left elbow he dislocated in Week 2.

Quinn said he wants Daniels to scramble to throw more as he grows in Blough's offense. "He always can make some throws that just kinda leaves you thinking, 'Man, there it is. There's only a few guys that can make that throw or that play,'" Quinn said.