The Washington Commanders are already facing an uphill battle in terms of their hopes for a resurgent 2026 campaign. This is thanks to the one thing they couldn't afford to happen again.
Injuries. And it has head coach Dan Quinn shaking his head.
The Commanders dropped their second preseason outing to the Detroit Lions at Ford Field a week after beating the Miami Dolphins at home. There were some positive takeaways — literally, including one that was returned for a touchdown — but for the three snaps that the starting offense played, it was a disaster.
Dan Quinn is already taking bold measures to avoid same Commanders problems
Quinn pulled no punches. The Commanders were supposed to hold a walk-through practice on Monday, but they were in pads. The coach later called out his players for being in disarray and for failing to play complementary football en route to a disappointing loss.
The result didn't matter much. This lack of urgency and cohesion did.
Dan Quinn said he felt like the team didn’t player complementary football on Saturday in Detroit. Said he felt like it was “in disarray.”
— Nicki Jhabvala (@NickiJhabvala) August 24, 2026
For the third-year head coach whose seat is uncomfortably warm heading into the season, he's not denying the fact that there is work to be done. And Quinn had better be able to figure it out.
Quinn may not be a perfect NFL coach, but he's the type of personality you want in your coach. He's tough, passionate, enthusiastic, and just talks in a way that makes you want to believe in him.
The only problem is that when the performance isn't there, it's hard to sell fans on your promises.
All throughout last year, this was a common refrain from Quinn.
The players just weren't synced up. They just weren't making plays. They weren't stepping up for each other. They were "still figuring it out". And they never did.
Dan Quinn is out of excuses, and so are his Commanders p[layers
Of course, when you have to trot out a different lineup every week because you have countless key players on injured reserve, it's hard to put much blame on the coaching staff for a lack of chemistry. But that's supposed to be Quinn's specialty.
He's a CEO coach. A locker room guy. A culture guy. A leader of men.
If Quinn wants to keep his job past 2026, and possibly even through to the end of 2026, he'll need to start converting his rhetoric into tangible progress on the field.
Every team in the NFL deals with injuries; the good ones find a way to overcome them. It's only preseason right now, but if these issues persist into September and October, Washington will have a problem.
Retaining Quinn after last season's disaster was unequivocally the right decision, given what he and Washington had accomplished in 2024. You don't fire people because one year went off the rails. But it's imperative that the Salisbury University alum learns from his mistakes, and that means no more excuses.
And his players must step up to the plate.
It's still a long season for Quinn and the Commanders. But if his squad looks disjointed and unprepared in the fall, he might not see the end of it.
Add us as a preferred source on Google