For the second straight week, the Washington Commanders are combating questions about poor game management.
In the second quarter of Monday night's 23-17 loss to San Francisco, Jayden Daniels threw the ball away on a fourth-and-2 from the 49ers' 13-yard line. There was a flag on the play, but coach Dan Quinn admitted Tuesday that the QB should have taken a shot, even if it ended in an interception.
"Even when you know there's a penalty, you still take your shot, man, to go throw it, complete it," Quinn said, via ESPN. "You don't know if it's gonna get picked up."
The penalty was an illegal shift, which meant the throwaway stood, and the Commanders turned the ball over on downs.
"I didn't know. It could have been offside, it could have been on us," Daniels said when asked if he'd anticipated an offsides call.
Regardless of what the flag was for, Daniels should not have tossed the ball away. If it was on Washington, an incompletion stands. If it was on the Niners, any potential negative play, i.e., an interception, would have been wiped out.
The mistake in a vacuum would have been rough. Coming after Week 5's tilt, in which Daniels failed to throw the ball away with eight seconds left in overtime, leading to a tie with the New York Giants, it compounds the blunder.
Mental miscues are holding back a Washington team that battled back in the second half on Monday night. Daniels finished 29-of-40 passing for 300 yards and two touchdowns.
The third-year quarterback has been a concoction of breathtaking plays coupled with mind-numbing brain cramps. The latter has overshadowed the former early in the season.
"Like most things with him, there's some plays that you said, that's an incredible throw," Quinn said. "And there's other ones I'd love him to stay through the [read]."
To right the ship after a 1-4-1 start, Daniels must be more of an asset than a liability for the rest of the campaign.
