The Washington Commanders came into their Week 15 divisional clash against the New York Giants on an eight-game losing run. But the team currently holding the No. 1 pick in the 2026 NFL Draft proved to be a get-right contest in freezing temperatures.
It was a much-needed morale boost for the Commanders. It also affirmed what fans needed to believe about head coach Dan Quinn.
He has not lost the locker room, not by any stretch of the imagination. And even though this season hasn't gone according to plan, the Commanders are still fighting with everything they have to turn things around.
Commanders proved that head coach Dan Quinn has not lost the locker room
Pressure has been steadily building around Quinn. Nobody truly believed his job was in jeopardy after guiding Washington to the NFC Championship game in Year 1 of his tenure, but it wasn't hard to see why his seat would get warmer if something couldn't be salvaged from the campaign.
There are sterner challenges upcoming. However, the Commanders could only beat what was in front of them. And the Giants were the precise opponent needed for a bounce-back outing when all hope was lost.
This had a very preseason feel. Barely anyone in the stands, two teams down on their luck, and nothing much to really play for. Even so, the Commanders competed, played with urgency, and never took their foot off the pedal to overwhelm the lowly Giants en route to a season sweep.
Quinn demanded a response from his players after they suffered an embarrassing shutout loss to the Minnesota Vikings. If his message still did not resonate with the players, his pleas would have fallen on deaf ears. Fortunately for the Commanders, that wasn't the case, and a fourth victory gave fans some solace amid the almost constant doom and gloom.
It doesn't mean much in the grand scheme of things, except that Washington diminished its chances of having a top-five draft pick in 2026. Still, it does prove that belief in Quinn hasn't wavered. That's the most significant positive above all else that the Commanders can take into the offseason.
Whether this trend continues with two games against the Philadelphia Eagles and a Christmas Day showdown with the Dallas Cowboys is debatable. They pose much tougher tests, but during a campaign where little has gone right for the Commanders, fans can take heart from the fact that they are not giving up.
And everyone in the building is still pushing forward for Quinn, while most struggling franchises around the league have already thrown in the towel.