Commanders' Dan Quinn Takes Blame for Playing Jayden Daniels in Blowout Before Injury

Washington Commanders head coach Dan Quinn acknowledged that he should have removed Jayden Daniels from Sunday night's loss against the Seattle Seahawks with the game out of hand, before the quarterback suffered a dislocated left elbow.

"I get that," he told reporters while discussing the questions about why Daniels was still in the game with seven minutes remaining in the fourth quarter and the Commanders trailing 38-7. "I've been thinking about it nonstop too and, man, I missed it. ... That is 100 percent on me."

Quinn's decision to keep Daniels in the game was met with significant backlash:

There have been reports that Daniels' injury isn't necessarily a season-ending situation, especially because it came on his non-throwing arm. But Washington is already 3-6 on the season and has gone just 1-2 in Marcus Mariota's starts (and also lost against the Dallas Cowboys in October when Mariota had to replace Daniels in the second half).

Washington's schedule down the stretch isn't easy, with tough matchups against the Detroit Lions, Denver Broncos, Minnesota Vikings, Philadelphia Eagles (twice) and the Cowboys still remaining.

It's possible that by the time Daniels might theoretically is able to return, the playoffs are already out of reach anyway, and in that case, bringing Daniels back would be nonsensical.

There are currently 10 teams in the NFC with a .500 winning percentage or better. The Commanders are facing a major uphill battle and will be doing so for at least the next few games without their most important and dynamic player.

Put more bluntly: Quinn's decision to keep Daniels in the game during a blowout probably just extinguished the team's chances at turning things around. It will weight heavily on him, and the team's fans, for the rest of the season.