Dan Quinn's defense was better than Joe Whitt Jr.'s, but the Washington Commanders keep losing

A year after surprising everyone by going 12-5 and reaching the NFC title game, Washington is surprising folks again, just in a bad way, entering its bye week at 3-8 after six consecutive setbacks.

“We’re all mad over the month that’s been,” Quinn said.

It's actually been longer: The Commanders' most recent victory came on Oct. 5, at the Los Angeles Chargers. That made Washington 3-2.

A week later came a one-point home loss to the Chicago Bears, and nothing's been the same since.

With AP NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year Jayden Daniels sidelined by injury, top target Terry McLaurin out, too, and plenty of other problems, Washington has seen its play become as poor as its health.

After traveling overseas for the latest bad result, linebacker Bobby Wagner said: “It’s a long way to travel to come up short.”

What’s working

Quinn as defensive play-caller. It's just one week, and it came against the mediocre Dolphins. Still, the head coach's move to demote defensive coordinator Joe Whitt Jr. appeared to pay off Sunday. It wasn't perfect — each of Miami's first three plays went for at least 10 yards; RB De’Von Achane gained 120 yards on 21 carries and 45 yards on five catches — but the improvement was noticeable. That included two stops of the Dolphins on drives that reached goal-to-go situations; they had been 13 for 13 in scoring touchdowns on such opportunities. There also was a sack on a cornerback blitz by Jonathan Jones, the type of thing that didn't happen under Whitt. Washington limited Miami to 13 points through four quarters and totals of 142 yards passing and 3 for 11 on third or fourth downs. “As players, we’ve got to go out and execute plays,” Wagner said. “Today we did a better job of that.”

What needs help

The offense. It doesn't help that Daniels (dislocated left elbow) missed his fifth game of the season and McLaurin missed his seventh. Or that RB Austin Ekeler was lost for the season in Week 2. Or that WR Noah Brown is on injured reserve. Long drives that ended with nothing to show for them was a big problem. “This offense can score a lot of points,” Mariota said, “but if we’re not converting our red zone opportunities, it’s tough.”

Stock up

WR Deebo Samuel. He had a game-best seven catches for 74 yards and Washington's lone TD. Samuel has team highs of 53 catches, 470 yards receiving and six total touchdowns this season.

Stock down

PK Matt Gay. He missed a potential game-winning field-goal attempt from 56 yards in the closing seconds of regulation, sending it wide right. “You just feel like you let your team down,” Gay said. “Got to make it. Cannot miss that kick.” He missed a 51-yarder earlier and is 13 of 19 on field-goal tries this season, 68.4%. Only two kickers have been worse. Gay is 4 for 9 on attempts from 50 yards or more in a league where that sort of distance is nearly automatic for many kickers.

Injuries

Mariota returned after leaving briefly in the second half with what he called a stinger on his right side, causing his throwing arm to get “tingly and numb.” He said it was “nothing major; something that every football player goes through.” WR-KR Jaylin Lane exited with an injured hip; that's why Sainristil was on the field for the punt that he dropped.

Key number

7 — The current slot for the Commanders in the first round of the 2026 draft.

Next steps

Things do not figure to get much easier when Washington returns to action on Nov. 30 against the visiting Denver Broncos, who are on an eight-game winning streak and, at 9-2, are tied with the New England Patriots for the best record in the NFL. Like the Commanders, the Broncos are heading into their bye week.

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL