Washington Commanders fans are looking for scapegoats as their season descends into abject failure or worse. And in recent days, offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury has felt their wrath.
Despite the final result in Week 14, it was a promising start for Washington. The Minnesota Vikings scored on their opening drive, but Jayden Daniels and the Commanders' offense marched straight down the field to answer it until they stalled at the opposition's goal line.
That's when it all fell apart, and Dan Quinn's squad never recovered.
Chalk that up to a series of inexplicable decisions made by Kingsbury. If it's any solace, he's well aware of his mistakes.
Kliff Kingsbury owns botched Commanders' goal-line series against the Vikings
Kingsbury spoke with the media on Thursday, and he didn't sound like a man who has been sleeping well the past few nights.
Kliff Kingsbury, asked about calling pass plays in that goal-line sequence vs. Minnesota:
— Tom Schad (@Tom_Schad) December 11, 2025
"There's 30 plays in that game I wish I'd called something differently. ... There weren't a lot of great play calls in that game. And like I said, that's on me and I've got to get better."
During the sequence in question, Kingsbury called three consecutive pass plays after a pair of chunk yardage runs by Chris Rodriguez Jr. set up a second-and-goal from the two-yard line. That should have been an easy opportunity for the Commanders to punch the ball in. Instead, they scored zero points.
A 98-yard Vikings touchdown drive on their ensuing possession extended their advantage to 14-0, and from that point on, Washington was in desperation mode. The run game was abandoned altogether, and Daniels had to do too much. This led the signal-caller to take too many hits and reggravate his elbow injury.
It's hard to say the result of a 31-point loss would have changed because of three plays during the first quarter, but the sequence certainly took away any momentum Washington might have had. The most befuddling call was when Kingsbury tried to dial up a lob to backup offensive lineman Brandon Coleman, but the Vikings defense sniffed it out before Daniels could connect with him.
Deebo Samuel Sr. then dropped Daniels' pass on fourth down, a position Washington never should have found itself in to begin with. It's far from the first time Kingsbury has gotten too cute with his play-calling this year, as his decisions late in the fourth quarter against the Miami Dolphins in Madrid arguably cost the Commanders a win.
The honesty and accountability from Kingsbury are refreshing, but right now, they mean nothing. What's done is done. He can promise to do better all he wants, but Washington needs to see it.
Otherwise, he can kiss his chances of being an NFL head again goodbye.