Micah Parsons didn’t hold back on his podcast when discussing the Commanders‘ botched final play Sunday, saying that quarterback Jayden Daniels‘ mistake will probably end up getting Washington coach Dan Quinn fired.
The Green Bay Packers‘ star pass rusher is close with Quinn, who was his defensive coordinator for three seasons (2021-23) when Parsons played for the Dallas Cowboys.
“Jayden Daniels probably cost my man Dan Quinn his job, to be honest with you,” Parsons said on his podcast, “The Edge with Micah Parsons.”
“To be honest with you. And, like, I’m a big Jayden Daniels fan. But the reality is, he probably cost a lot of people their jobs this past weekend.”
On Sunday, Washington reached the New York Giants‘ 24-yard line with 50 seconds remaining in overtime and the score tied. The offense did not end up snapping the ball for the next play until 12 seconds remained. With no timeouts left, Daniels dropped back to pass after a fake handoff then started to scramble and was tackled with eight seconds to play.
As Commanders players halfheartedly got back to the line, with Daniels and others slow to get off the ground, Washington ran out of time to spike the ball and stop the clock to set up a winning field goal attempt. The game ended in a 27-27 tie.
Afterward, Daniels took accountability, saying, “We have to know the situation. We have to relay that as an offense. It starts with everyone, top down. Ultimately, it’s on me.”
Parsons said NFL players “get coached so much” on the situations at the end of an overtime period — even defensive players.
“I’m a defensive player, and this s—‘s programmed to me. I even know what to do in those situations,” Parsons said, adding that Daniels, who is in his third NFL season, has no excuse not to know how to operate in that scenario. “And mind you, it’d be different if Jayden Daniels was a rookie. This is your third year. This is your third year. You’ve been to the NFC Championship Game. You’ve been in big moments before.”
“This is your job to be prepared to understand the game and understand situations. That’s in your job profile,” Parsons continued. “And you’re telling me, ‘Oh, we’re going to want to pay this guy eventually $60 million?’ This cannot happen.
“I’m a big JD5 fan, but that’s inexcusable, bro.”
Quinn, who was hired as the Commanders’ coach in 2024, said Monday he met with team owner Josh Harris, as Quinn regularly does, and that no one is happy with the game’s bungled final sequence or the team’s 1-3-1 record.
Quinn said offensive coordinator David Blough called the last play but that the head coach is ultimately responsible for what transpires.
“All of that comes through me,” Quinn said. “Dave’s the one that calls it, but I want to make sure I’m clear on my guidelines too. This will break down in a lot of ways, so it starts with me first.”
ESPN’s John Keim contributed to this report.
