Dan Quinn has the Commanders in contention for the NFC East title

D. Orlando Ledbetter, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Dec 24, 2024

Published in Football

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ASHBURN, Va.— Former Atlanta Falcons coach Dan Quinn has the Washington Commanders rolling.

The Falcons (8-7) are set to face the Commanders (10-5), one of the hotter teams in the NFL, at 8:20 p.m. ET Sunday at Northwest Stadium in Landover, Md., with NFC playoff implications on the line.

The Commanders, who are led by rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels, are coming off a 36-33 victory Sunday over the Eagles, which snapped their 10-game win streak. The Commanders still are in the hunt for the NFC East title, two games behind the Eagles (12-3) with two games to play.

The Falcons are tied for the lead with the Bucs (8-7) in the NFC South. The Falcons hold the tiebreaker over the Bucs with two head-to-head wins. The Falcons need to beat Washington and then the Panthers in the regular-season finale to make it back to the playoffs for the first time since the 2017 season.

Quinn, who was the Falcons coach from 2015-20, is one of two coaches to take the franchise to the Super Bowl. After he was fired five games into the 2020 season, Quinn was hired as Dallas’ defensive coordinator the next year.

Quinn took over in Washington this season and is benefiting from the spectacular play of rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels, a former Arizona State and LSU standout who was taken with the second overall pick in the NFL draft.

“It’s been awesome,” Commanders backup quarterback Marcus Mariota, a former Falcon, said to The Atlanta Journal Constitution recently about playing for Quinn. “He is, honestly one of my favorites that I’ve ever played for. The energy and the culture he builds here is just very fun to be a part of. I’m really enjoying myself.”

Daniels has completed 301 of 432 passes (69.7%) for 3,303 yards, 22 touchdowns and eight interceptions. He has a passer rating of 101.3. A crafty runner, Daniels also has rushed 128 times for 737 yards and six touchdowns.

He’s a near lock for the Associated Press rookie-of-the-year award.

“He’s done a great job,” Mariota said. “He’s deserves a lot of credit for how he’s come in. His demeanor and the way he works. I think that there are no surprises as to why he’s good.”

Former Falcons wide receiver Olamide Zaccheaus caught five passes for 70 yards and two touchdowns Sunday. He also is a big supporter of Daniels.

“It’s been great,” Zaccheaus told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “I think he’s handled a lot of things very, very well. … It’s been cool to see. It’s great to play alongside of him. He’s just going to continue to grow as he gets more games under his belt.”

Cornerback Marshon Lattimore, who was acquired in a trade with the Saints in early November, played in his second game for the Commanders in the win Sunday. He covered A.J. Brown and was called for three defensive pass-interference penalties. Quinn was fine with how Lattimore competed.

“He has a real edge about him, a strength about him, and he really fits in well to how we want to play,” Quinn told Washington media members Monday. “So, I was pretty pumped to see him.”

Lattimore likely will cover Falcons wide receiver Drake London, who’s 22 yards from his first 1,000-yard receiving season.

Quinn has won over his locker room.

“I’m grateful for DQ reaching out to me and bringing me in,” Zaccheaus said. “I know what he wants things to look like. I’m helping him build a culture here. We want to win. We are just building that culture day in and day out. I know what that should look like. I know what he wants it to look like. So, I’m just helping him do that.”

Falcons coach Raheem Morris was on Quinn’s staff with the Falcons and took over as the interim head coach in 2020. He then went to the Rams and helped them win a Super Bowl as their defensive coordinator.

He was hired in January to replace Arthur Smith.

Morris and Quinn, while with the Rams and Cowboys, have faced each other before.

“We played the Cowboys, I want to say twice,” Morris said. “It could be just once, but for sure once. They kicked our butts a bit last year.”

The Cowboys won 43-20 on Oct. 29, 2023 at home.

Both made their return to the head-coaching ranks this season from previous head coaching jobs.

“Man, it’s always fun to play against your friends, your confidants, your mentors — whatever you want to look at it as — that we’ve been able to grow up with throughout this whole process,” Morris said. “You know, Dan coaching me in college (at Hofstra) and then having a chance to work together, then having a chance to really follow the same path to the National Football League.”

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