Dan Quinn swears he knew it was 4th down vs. 49ers

Early in the 2nd quarter, Washington was down 13-3 and had 4th-and-2 at the San Francisco 13. Quinn went for it. That part was fine. Everything after it was not.

PFT Commenter

@PFTCommenter

4th and 2 Jayden Daniels throwaway breakdown: 1. What a catch by sourdough Sam 2. All smiles good to see jaydens having fun out there. what its all about 3. Dan Quinn looks extremely fired

Jayden Daniels threw it away. Nobody was even close to it, and Washington turned it over on downs. Then ESPN cut to Quinn on the sideline, and the internet heard what sounded a lot like a head coach working out the down after the play was already over. The clip spread fast. Not everybody was sure what Quinn was actually mad about, though, including the guy who wanted him fired more than anyone.

That was the generous reading, and it lasted about an hour. There had already been an illegal shift flag on the 4th-down snap. The game kept drifting away from Washington. The fire-him tweets piled up from every corner of the company, and they weren't really about one play. They were about what happened the week before.

In Week 5 against the Giants, Washington botched the end of overtime and couldn't get a field goal off, and what should have been a win went into the standings as a tie. The film people were already calling for someone's head before this game even started.

Warren Sharp

@UC5Me5Jw0nSj1qF6ZfibrFMw

“This is a debacle that should result in somebody getting fired or reassigned.”

0:45

The annoying part for Washington fans is that Daniels nearly made all of it go away. Late in the 4th quarter, down 23-17, he threw a deep ball down the sideline that got the Commanders moving and gave everyone a reason to stay up.

Eric Nathan

@BarstoolNate

A healthy Jayden is a top 5 QB in the league. Get him a coach with a brain, a high protein diet, a RB who can play RB, and a WR that isn’t on crack and he’s going to set records.

It didn't happen. The 49ers sacked Daniels to end it, and it finished 23-17. Then came the podium, and Quinn was asked about the sideline clip.

Barstool Sports

@barstoolsports

“I definitely knew it was 4th down” is exactly what somebody who didn’t know it was 4th down would say

Barstool Sports@barstoolsports

“Ohhhh that was 4th down” Did Dan Quinn not know what down it was??? t.co/jwHBzivvzF

His version: "No, I definitely knew it was fourth down. We were going for it." He said what people heard was him pointing out that with the illegal shift, the penalty didn't change anything about kicking a field goal. Maybe so. But 2 weeks in a row now, Washington's coach has had to explain what happened in a big moment, and the explanation never fixes it. Daniels is still the reason anyone tunes in to this team. Every week, the question gets louder: is Quinn the guy holding him back?