Decompression might as well be a foreign concept to Washington Commanders coach Dan Quinn at this point in a disappointing season, as his squad returned from a bye week on Monday.
The third-year coach often discusses how essential rest can be given how intense NFL practices and games are. But his bye week didn’t resemble a vacation.
He was grinding the tape. Washington’s underwhelming 1-4-1 start won’t fix itself.
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“I’m not ready to [decompress] yet. You want to keep diving in,” Quinn said. “You find this rhythm that you want to stay into.”
The Commanders’ last game — a Monday night loss to the San Francisco 49ers on Oct. 19 — was all about rhythm.
Washington stormed back from a 20-3 halftime deficit before losing 23-17 after a potential game-winning drive fell short.
Quinn’s week off started with that game. He needed to “close the chapter” before shifting his focus to the remaining 11-game stretch, which starts on Sunday night with a prime-time tilt against the Philadelphia Eagles.
NFL teams are constantly self-scouting to ensure their tendencies don’t become predictable and weaknesses don’t become fatal. The bye week was no exception.
“You can’t just look ahead and ‘All right, what did we like? Why was the [second] half better than the second half? You know, what moments did we like?’” Quinn said. “That’s when you shift. What are the action items that you do to put those in place?”
The Commanders have no shortage of problems to address. The offensive line has been middling in pass protection but disastrous in its run blocking. The pass defense has remained problematic, even with constant adjustments to how it deploys personnel. Quarterback Jayden Daniels is still finding his stride after dislocating his elbow in Week 2. He’ll be without star receiver Terry McLaurin, who suffered a torn patellar tendon against the 49ers, for the remainder of the season.
Despite Washington’s standing at the bottom of the NFC East, Quinn said players returned to the facility with bounce in their steps on Monday.
There’s reason for optimism. Veteran receiver Stefon Diggs should be fully healthy after playing through injuries in recent weeks. Fellow pass-catcher Treylon Burks is expected to practice, as are backup quarterback Marcus Mariota and defensive lineman Charles Omenihu.
The Commanders, despite their subpar record, aren’t being embarrassed when they take the field. They managed a win against the defending champion Seattle Seahawks. The losses to the Eagles and 49ers featured razor-thin margins, while defeats against the Dallas Cowboys and Indianapolis Colts could be waved off due to mid-game injuries suffered by Daniels and Mariota.
“It was heavy the first few games, some adversity for sure. … We were all disappointed, obviously, about having some games go the other way. Then it turns into what do we need to do?” Quinn said. “There was energy, optimism to get started again.”
Several players will likely see increased workloads after the bye week. Running backs Rachaad White, Austin Ekeler and Jeremy McNichols will continue splitting the backfield load without start Jacory Croskey-Merritt.
Cornerback Trey Amos is now further removed from the lower leg injury that sidelined him for the final seven games last season and the first five weeks this year.
Rookie wide receiver Antonio Williams is expected to receive the bulk of the targets once allocated to McLaurin.
The problems that have plagued the group, Quinn believes, can be fixed.
“Belief is really powerful. Some[times] more powerful than even knowing, knowing that you’re capable of doing these things. …” Quinn said. “I’m certain that we’re going to get after it. And when we do that, beginning this week, I think that we’ll really show what we’re made of and why we can be an excellent team.”
The path to relevance begins with Sunday’s rematch against the Eagles, who are expected to start backup quarterback Tanner McKee for a third straight game.
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