The Washington Commanders have lost eight games in a row and are now set to be without quarterback Jayden Daniels yet again. At 3-10 with significant injuries holding them back at nearly every position, they might not win another game this season.
After their latest embarrassing performance, a scoreless blowout at the hands of the Minnesota Vikings, head coach Dan Quinn became the subject of mass criticism. After his emphatic statement the prior week that the Commanders "weren't lost anymore," they sure looked exactly that.
It's easy for fans to judge a team from their couches at home and claim its performance reflects a group that's given up. But those in the locker room know best.
Sam Cosmi firmly backs Commanders head coach Dan Quinn amid growing criticism
From a distance, the Commanders' season has played out much like their 2023 campaign. That team started 2-0, then went 4-5, before the bottom fell out with eight straight losses to end the season. Washington sold off defensive ends Chase Young and Montez Sweat at the trade deadline, and head coach Ron Rivera was fired at its conclusion.
That team quit. Rivera had lost them, and the decision to sell at the deadline affirmed a defeatist energy. From mid-November on, they were merely counting down the days until the offseason began.
This team is not that one. Just ask veteran offensive lineman Sam Cosmi.
Sam Cosmi: "DQ hasnt lost the team. At all. I was here for the '23 season and it's completely different from that...I cant put my finger on why were not able to produce, but for the respect for DQ, it's all there."
— JP Finlay (@JPFinlayNBCS) December 9, 2025
There are reasons why the Commanders are bad this year. They're so injured it's not even funny. Most of their healthy players are as old as dirt. Their depth is sorely lacking. Both coordinators' flaws have been exposed, with Joe Whitt Jr. already demoted and Kliff Kingsbury's offense a shell of what it was a year ago.
That is not on Quinn. He's had areas where he could have done better this year, but as the head coach, his primary job is to keep everybody bought in. It's hard to make lemonade out of lemons with a crippled version of a roster that has serious holes even at full strength.
As pathetic as it sounds, the Commanders are trying their best. They're trotting out an under-strength unit, and before their latest loss at U.S. Bank Stadium, they'd been relatively competitive in their past few games.
It'll be an uphill battle trying to find any wins the rest of the way, but they're not going to quit on Quinn as those who came before did on Rivera.