Sports
Jayden Daniels takes the blame for the Commanders' overtime clock gaffe against the Giants
Jayden Daniels said the overtime clock meltdown in Washington's tie with the Giants is on him as the Commanders prepare for the 49ers.
Four days after Washington's overtime clock gaffe ended in a 27-27 tie with the New York Giants, quarterback Jayden Daniels said the blame falls on him.
"Ultimately, it's on me at the end of the day," Daniels said Thursday. "I know DQ (coach Dan Quinn) is getting a lot of flak for it and whatever. But regardless of what happens, I'm the person on the field who is supposed to calm everything and control everything and I failed to (meet) the standard I hold myself to and the standard of the organization."
What went wrong
Washington blew a 14-point lead in the final minutes of regulation and still had a chance to win in overtime. After the Giants fumbled, Daniels led the Commanders into field goal range. With no timeouts and the ball near the New York 24, the offense burned about 39 seconds before the next snap. Instead of spiking the ball or throwing it out of bounds, Daniels scrambled and was sacked. Time expired before Washington could try a kick.
Outside criticism piled on quickly. Daniels said he saw some of it and that family and friends checked on him in the days after the game. He told teammates the lapse would never happen again.
Quinn keeps taking the hit
Quinn has also owned the mistake. He blamed himself after the game, again the next day and again Thursday. He said the sequence has been dissected and corrected internally and that he will tweak parts of the team's weekly preparation and in-game process.
Daniels pushed back against putting the coaches in the crosshairs. "Don't even put it on the coaches," he said. "I got to be aware, more aware, go out there and manage the game, right? And I did not do that."
Next up: Monday night in Santa Clara
Washington held its first practice Thursday for Monday night's game against the San Francisco 49ers. Quinn reminded players that roughly two-thirds of the season remains. Right guard Sam Cosmi said the sky is not falling and that the Commanders still have plenty of football left to win the division.
