The lowlight of Jayden Daniels’ highlight-filled young NFL career has been the talk of the league in the wake of a head-scratching Week 5 tie between his Washington Commanders and the New York Giants.
While Commanders head coach Dan Quinn has fallen on the sword following Washington’s blatant clock mismanagement in overtime of that NFC East showdown, Daniels has caught plenty of heat for how he handled the moment, as well as his postgame news conference afterward.
The 25-year-old Daniels took more accountability for his mistake on Thursday, telling reporters that “it’ll never happen again.”
First Daniels repeated the words he uttered at the mic four days earlier, “Ultimately, it’s on me.” But then the 2024 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year dove much further into his introspection.
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“I know DQ was getting a lat of [flak] for it or whatever, 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.
“This is something to move on. I’m not saying I’m proud of it or anything. Obviously, looking back, it could have resulted in a loss — we tied — but it was a fail in my eyes. I know I’m better than that. I hold myself to a higher standard than that. So, moving forward, I’ll grow from it, learn from it. It’ll never happen again.”
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Jayden Daniels looking back on that play.
“Ultimately, it’s on me. … Iknow I’m better than that. I hold myself to a higher standard.” pic.twitter.com/EYrOYAf58i
— Ben Standig (@BenStandig) October 15, 2026
Daniels’ lapse occurred after he piloted the Commanders into field-goal territory late in the extra frame of a sloppy game against the Giants, who had already squandered an opportunity to kick a potential game-winner when running back Cam Skattebo fumbled at the Washington 24-yard line on the previous drive in overtime.
The Commanders never ended up making New York pay. Even though Washington had no timeouts, and the clock was ticking, they opted for another play instead of spiking the ball to set up a game-winning field-goal attempt.
Daniels dubiously took a sack and stayed on the ground for a few seconds before seemingly remembering the gravity of the situation. Most of the starting offense didn’t appear to have a sense of urgency.
Eventually, Daniels and Co. scurried to spike the ball, but they couldn’t get lined up in time to do so, and the game unceremoniously concluded with the score tied at 27.
The Commanders can’t get the play off in time and this game ends in a tie pic.twitter.com/WmPp6q5hU0
— NFL (@NFL) October 11, 2026
Quinn took the blame postgame, admitting that the right call would have been to simply stop the clock with a spike or a throwaway out of bounds. They didn’t need to gain more yards; they could have attempted a potential game-winning field goal earlier, Quinn said.
He also told reporters that the end-of-game sequencing “does not fall on” Daniels.
On Thursday, Quinn — who is 3-13-1 in his last 17 games at the helm — reiterated his messaging, at one point emphasizing, “It’s my responsibility. Point blank, period.”
Yet his persistence hasn’t shielded Daniels from scrutiny. Notably, Green Bay Packers star pass rusher Micah Parsons came to the defense of Quinn, his defensive coordinator for three seasons when he was with the Dallas Cowboys, and blamed Daniels for the blunder.
“I’ve been moving on to San Francisco,” Daniels said Thursday, alluding to Monday night’s road game against the 49ers when asked about the critique he’s been subject to in recent days. “I can’t say it’s not warranted because of what happened. Everybody has opinions to speak and rightfully so. Can’t stop nobody from saying their opinion or anything like that.
“It’s just about my process and moving forward and learning from it and moving on.”
That was the refrain Daniels kept coming back to on Thursday with noticeable humility: some variation of the words “learn” and “move on.”
He took question after question about the play that spelled doom for him, Quinn and the rest of the Commanders this past Sunday.
Daniels referenced his father’s 24-hour rule. He said that, in this case, because Washington had an extra day to prepare for San Francisco, he had a maximum of 48 hours to turn the page.
He explained that he was “fairly quick” to get to where he is now, in terms of processing what happened in that fateful situation.
“Emotions are everywhere all throughout the stadium. And once you kind of just settle down and realize and get to reflect,” Daniels said, “it’s just something that kept me up at night, you know, ‘What could I have done better?’ Even prior to that play and stuff like that.”
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Earlier on Thursday, Quinn described Daniels — who returned last week from a second dislocated left elbow injury — as “a really resilient guy.”
Daniels has had to overcome a handful of injuries the past two seasons. Now he and his team are dealing with a different kind of obstacle. The 1-3-1 Commanders have to tune out the noise, avoid a hangover from it and get back to the win column versus the Niners.
“You get a chance to show that resilience and not just talk about it,” Quinn said Thursday. “And I think that’s a big step. When the adversity comes, not just talking about it but showing it. And this is a team that definitely wants to do that.”