The good thing about short weeks is that teams can quickly erase any lackluster performance from their minds. And having no time to stew on their Week 9 loss to the Los Angeles Rams was definitely a good thing for the Washington Commanders.
But that doesn't change their shaky predicament heading into Thursday Night Football against the New York Giants.
The Rams game was winnable, but avoidable mistakes cost them in big moments. There is nothing the Commanders can do about that now. This is all about identifying problems and solving them with their season on the line.
Washington is now three games behind the Giants for the NFC East lead. Losing at MetLife Stadium would widen that gap to four, which would all but write off the Commanders' playoff chances unless there is a turnaround of epic proportions.
Unlikely, but the Commanders are still fighting.
General manager Adam Peters stood pat at the 2026 trade deadline. Calls were made, but the front-office leader did nothing. That speaks to the belief in the building, but there's no telling what another demoralizing loss would do to morale.
Hopefully, it won't come to that. But make no mistake; it's going to take a massive effort from everybody.
With that in mind, here are seven Commanders on the hot seat with the prime-time spotlight glaring.
Washington Commanders on the hot seat with their fading season riding on prime-time Giants clash
Dan Quinn - Commanders HC
When the same problems keep happening over and over, that's on coaching. And head coach Dan Quinn is clearly getting tired of saying the same things week after week.
Once again, he's commented on the resolve in the building. Quinn has complete faith in his squad, even though they haven't repaid it yet. He will never stop believing, and he will fight right until his services are no longer required.
But the time for talk ended weeks ago.
The Commanders have to be better in all phases. They have to make the right decisions in high-pressure situations with games on the line. Quinn is the CEO, and he is failing to keep everyone on the same page.
One can blame the injuries. One can even point to some bad luck along the way. But this is all about results, and the Commanders just aren't getting it done consistently.
Washington is in danger of becoming a lame duck. Quinn might think they are close, but their 2-5-1 record suggests otherwise. And if they fall four games behind the Giants on Thursday Night Football, things are going to get uncomfortable over the Commanders' mini bye week.
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