The Washington Commanders (6-2) are one of the best stories of the 2024 NFL campaign. With No. 2 overall pick Jayden Daniels leading their charge, winning football has returned to the nation’s capital.
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Their Hail Mary victory over the Chicago Bears in Week 8 seemed to solidify their standing among the NFL’s upper-echelon teams. Now, they must avoid a trap game versus the lowly New York Giants.
With the Pittsburgh Steelers, Philadelphia Eagles, and Dallas Cowboys on the horizon, it’d be easy to peek ahead. But head coach Dan Quinn is confident that won’t happen. When he previewed the Commanders-Giants matchup earlier this week, he detailed why his squad has found success this season.
“We have a precise nature of getting ready… on a Wednesday… part of the gameplan. On Thursday, we talk so much about the ball: takeaways and ball security. Friday, on the game situations. And if we do that right, the whole week… that process will take care of all the learning… we want to make sure we go through that process well before it’s gametime.”
Washington snuck away with a win in Week 8, but Quinn isn’t harping on the result. He’s sticking to the process and knows his team has a lot of fixes ahead of their Week 9 divisional battle.
Dan Quinn: Corrections after winning “can be harder”
“Winning cures all” is a very accurate saying. Against the Bears, Washington’s offense stalled inside Chicago’s 15-yard line three times in the first half. They scored only nine points on those possessions.
The lack of touchdowns should have cost them a win. And their miracle triumph could help them ignore their 24th-place ranking in red zone touchdown rate (51.4%) through eight weeks.
Instead, Quinn isn’t letting them rest on their laurels. His process-oriented approach makes the previous affair’s final score irrelevant when preparing for the next contest.
“Sometimes it can be harder [correcting mistakes after a win] because you could gloss over things… the good news with out group is that we want to make sure [we] detach from the results of it on ‘Tell The Truth Monday.’ That way, you can say ‘this was good’… [or] ‘this needs work’… if you keep doing that over and over, you’ll keep improving.”
The Commanders have drastically outperformed their 2023 numbers on both sides of the ball. Offensively, Daniels and offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury are averaging 10 more points per game year-over-year (YOY). Defensively, Quinn and defensive coordinator Joe Whitt are holding opponents to nearly 10 fewer points per game.
- 2023 Offense – 19.4 PPG; 2024 Offense – 29.5 PPG; +10.1 PPG YOY
- 2023 Defense – 30.5 PPG; 2024 Defense – 20.9 PPG; – 9.6 PPG YOY
These differentials have helped Washington double their 2023 Week 8 win total (3) over the same period this season. They also have the Commanders sitting atop the NFC East as we tumble toward autumn and winter.
Quinn’s mindset has been a welcome change of pace for Commanders fans. They now have their sights set on their first postseason victory since 2006. Washington’s players’ focus, though, remains on the game ahead. They kick off at 1:00 p.m. E.T. against New York on Sunday.
