Washington Commanders head coach Dan Quinn's locker room speech after their game against the Denver Broncos was shown on HBO's docuseries Hard Knocks, and the message was clear. Even though his team was defeated, he didn't feel like this squad was lost anymore.
Just a few short days later, they're anything but.
The Commanders suffered an embarrassing shutout loss to the Minnesota Vikings. They were unprepared, unmotivated, and outcoached from start to finish. Jayden Daniels was pulled for his own safety despite the game being 14-0, and veteran tight end Zach Ertz is facing a fight to save his career after a serious ACL injury.
It was a complete capitulation more in keeping with the darker days in franchise history. And one team insider said what fans were already thinking about Quinn's speech gone wrong.
Commanders insider questions Dan Quinn's locker room judgment after Week 14 loss
JP Finlay from NBC Sports thought Quinn's judgment of where things stand came back to haunt him. He thought it would be tough for the coach to explain, especially with such a dismal performance coming on the back of almost celebrating a loss.
"Covered this team a long time. Today was shocking. So many questions coming off that. The "we lost but were not lost anymore" quote gonna be tough for DQ to explain after this performance. Can't lose 7 in a row, kinda celebrate the 7th loss, and then come drop the 8th like this."JP Finlay
In fairness to Quinn, he didn't go on the defensive during his post-game media availability. He freely admitted that his team had taken a massive step back and that it was utterly unacceptable. The former Dallas Cowboys defensive coordinator looked more dejected and jaded than ever, which isn't surprising when one considers how things have unfolded since their Week 5 win over the Los Angeles Chargers.
It seems as if Quinn has run out of ideas this season. Nothing he's doing is eliciting the desired response, and Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell ruthlessly exposed any supposed improvements to the defense after Joe Whitt Jr. was demoted.
The campaign's end can't come soon enough, and all the good graces earned by this regime during Washington's memorable run to the NFC Championship game last time around are rapidly disintegrating.
With four divisional games left to navigate, there is still a chance for the Commanders to salvage some respectability from the campaign. Whether this demoralized squad is capable remains to be seen, but fans aren't holding out much hope.
And the pressure on Quinn is building.