Jayden Daniels admits Week 5 Commanders’ OT debacle vs NY Giants was his fault

The Washington Commanders were in the eye of the storm after a clock management debacle in Week 5 OT game vs New York Giants cost them a win. Many of those critics went to Jayden Daniels, and it seems like the quarterback agrees.

“Ultimately, like, it’s on me,” Daniels told reporters on Thursday. “At the end of the day, I know [coach Dan Quinn] is getting a lot of slack for it, whatever, you know, but regardless of what happens, I’m the person on the field that’s supposed to calm everything, control everything, and I failed to the standard I hold myself to and the standard in this organization.

“So it’s just something for me to move on. I’m not saying I’m proud of it or anything. Obviously, looking back, like, it could have resulted in a loss, we tied, but it was a fail in my in my eyes and, you know, I know I’m better in that. I hold myself to a higher standard than that. So, moving forward, I’ll grow from and learn from it. And it’ll never happen again,” Daniels concluded.

Commanders failed on multiple levels

While it all ended in a tie, there was a point in that game where the Commanders led the Giants by two scores. The fact that the Giants forced an OT was a good enough reason for critics to pound on the Commanders. The OT clock management debacle was the icing on the cake.

Daniels is right, though. It’s on him to be aware of the clock, the field position, the timeouts available —if any— and how to proceed. He should’ve just spiked the ball and leave time for the field goal unit. Instead, he ran with the ball, took a long time to get up, and then wasted all remaining time before being able to snap it.

See also

Micah Parsons blasts costly Jayden Daniels mistake following Commanders tie vs Giants

Dan Quinn is arguably the lesser to blame

Daniels is undoubtedly the one with the most blame. However, it’s head coach Dan Quinn the one getting stomped on by fans and media. But in fact, Quinn is not even the second guy on the ‘guilty list‘. That should be the offensive coordinator and first-year playcaller, David Blough.

After all, is Blough the one who is communicating with Daniels directly to the headset. Yes, Quinn does have some responsibility in the fact that he is the one who appointed Blough, the veteran, and a good head coach has a sufficiently-disciplined team to avoid this. However, out of the three parts, he is getting the most critics, and has the less responsibility.

Key takeaways

• Jayden Daniels took full personal responsibility for Washington’s Week 5 clock management failure.
• The Washington Commanders blew a two-score lead against the New York Giants before tying.
• Critics targeted head coach Dan Quinn despite quarterback Jayden Daniels holding primary fault.