The Washington Commanders had the ball at the New York Giants’ 24-yard line in overtime Sunday, needing only a field goal to win, and never got the kick off, settling for a 27-27 tie at Northwest Stadium in Landover. The blunder has made head coach Dan Quinn one of the most-searched names in Maryland on Monday, as Washington sits at 1-3-1 and last in the NFC East.
For Prince George’s County, where the Commanders still play home games until their new stadium in the District opens, the question now is whether the coach who led the team to its best season in decades will last the year.
What happened at the end of the Commanders-Giants game?
Washington led by 14 points in the fourth quarter before the Giants rallied. In overtime, the Commanders forced a Cam Skattebo fumble at their own 24-yard line and drove into field-goal range, ESPN reported.
After a Rachaad White run to the Giants’ 24 with 50 seconds left, Washington had no timeouts. It snapped the ball with 12 seconds remaining on second-and-8. Quarterback Jayden Daniels dropped back, found no one open, tucked the ball and was tackled for no gain with about eight seconds left. The clock kept running, and the Commanders could not spike the ball in time to bring out kicker Drew Stevens for a roughly 41- to 42-yard attempt. Because the next score would have won the game, the field goal could have been tried on that second down.
It was the first tie of the 2026 NFL season, according to CBS Sports.
What did Dan Quinn and Jayden Daniels say?
Both took the blame. Daniels, playing his first game since dislocating his left elbow in Week 2, said the offense has to know the situation and that “ultimately, it’s on me.” Quinn said the planned play was an outside throw to tight end Ben Sinnott and that he should have told his quarterback to clock the ball instead.
“At the end, I can make life easy there. We didn’t need to gain more yards.”
Commanders coach Dan Quinn, after the 27-27 tie, via CBS Sports
Quinn said the team practices end-of-game situations every Thursday. Receiver Terry McLaurin called the sequence “unacceptable,” and minority owner Magic Johnson posted on X that he was in “total disbelief” over the clock management, ESPN reported.
Is Dan Quinn on the hot seat?
The team has not announced any change, and Quinn has not been fired. But the tie has intensified questions that started during a disappointing 2025 season. A Washington Post analysis on Monday said the responsibility rests with Quinn and that owner Josh Harris will weigh the result when considering his coach’s future, and NBC Sports’ Pro Football Talk devoted a segment to whether, and when, Washington might make a move.
| Season | Record | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 12-5 | Reached NFC Championship Game |
| 2025 | 5-12 | Third in NFC East, missed playoffs |
| 2026 (through Week 5) | 1-3-1 | Last in NFC East |
Daniels missed much of 2025 with left-elbow injuries and was shut down in December, and he missed time again this season after the Week 2 dislocation. That context has been part of Quinn’s defense, but Sunday’s ending was a coaching and communication failure, not an injury problem, as Quinn himself acknowledged.
What does this mean for the NFC East and for Maryland fans?
The division is wide open. The Giants moved to 3-1-1 and into first place after the Philadelphia Eagles and Dallas Cowboys both lost in Week 5, CBS Sports reported, while Washington fell to last.
In the Baltimore area, the contrast with the Ravens is hard to miss: on the same Sunday night, backup quarterback Tyler Huntley led Baltimore to an overtime win in Atlanta. Read our breakdown of how the Ravens got to 4-1 without Lamar Jackson.
How long will the Commanders keep playing in Landover?
The Commanders have played at the Landover stadium, now called Northwest Stadium, since 1997. In September 2025 the D.C. Council approved, 11-2, a deal for a new stadium on the RFK site, with the stadium portion scheduled for completion in December 2030, Maryland Matters reported.
Under a memorandum of understanding, the team must begin demolishing the Landover stadium within 90 days of its first game at the new venue and then work with state and Prince George’s County agencies to turn the roughly 200-acre site into a mixed-use development. That means Maryland fans should have several more seasons of home games in Landover, whoever is coaching.
What’s next for Washington?
The Commanders play the San Francisco 49ers on the road next Monday night, Oct. 19. Any coaching decision would come from Harris and the front office; until the team says otherwise, Quinn remains the head coach.
Featured image: Aerial view of the Landover stadium, now Northwest Stadium, before the 2011 Army-Navy game. Photo: U.S. Navy / Wikimedia Commons, public domain.