While Washington Commanders QB Jayden Daniels made excuses for his play, head coach Dan Quinn tried to explain the nutty 2-point conversion play call. But is it a Week 1 overreaction to be worried about the new Jayden Daniels-led offense?

There are different answers to this question. But the bottom line is the Commanders lost 24-22 against the Eagles in the 2026 season opener for both teams. A failed 2-point conversion try in the final minute sealed the Commanders’ fate.

It wasn’t a great start for Commanders’ QB Jayden Daniels

The numbers don’t lie. Daniels completed 18 of 34 passes for 164 yards. But before a late flourish, he was an abysmal 12 of 26 for 108 yards.

The Commanders simply didn’t produce an effective offense, according to The Athletic.

“For most of the first three quarters, the Commanders' offense, and (David) Blough, its first-year offensive coordinator, got very little done,” David Aldridge wrote. “(They wasted) multiple opportunities given to it by Washington’s defense, which stacked three-and-outs much of the night and forced seven Eagles punts. (To be sure: The defense gave up a handful of killer big plays, too.)”

There were only two things the Commanders could really be happy about with their offense. They kept Daniels on the field for four quarters, and they struck for what could have been a tying score right at the end of the game.

Quinn said it was good to have Daniels back out there.

“I thought that was significant,” Quinn said. “It was good to see him also learn some lessons from ’25 — making a play, get down, throw the ball away. Those are things that, as a coach, I don’t really know until we get into the games. He’s such a competitor. I thought, man, it’s good to have him back into this space.”

Commanders didn't get things going on first and second downs

It seemed like the Commanders stayed in third-and-long situations. But Daniels said it was simply mistakes.

“We stopped shooting ourselves in the foot, being in third-and-longs, especially against a really good defense like that, and especially away,” said Daniels. “You don’t want to play in third-and-longs and let that crowd and that defense feast and rally to the ball. We shot ourselves in the foot too many times.

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“Obviously, the loss sucks. You don’t want to come out here and lose. Credit to Philly. But, God bless, I’m just happy to be out here playing football again.”

The offensive line didn’t look terrible. But then again, the job didn’t get done. As the game wore on, the Commanders unit seemed to be getting better against the Eagles’ front seven.

“I don’t think it’s really about clicking,” left tackle Brandon Coleman said. “You just have to keep going. You have to trust in everything. We have huge amounts of trust in Blough. He has huge amounts of trust in us. So just making sure that we played to the standard we’re supposed to.”

If you look hard, can you see positives?

It would be unfair to hang Blough out to dry in his first NFL game as an offensive coordinator. The offense didn’t look lost. It just didn’t look good for long stretches.

But when it mattered most, Blough called enough good plays to get the team down the field for the potential tying score. And then he tried to get cut with the inside pass to John Bates. Quinn should have overruled the play call. Or, Daniels should have hit Rachaad White, wide open in the flat.

So there’s a place where Blough learns from these mistakes and gets better. But there’s also a place where the Commanders have an awful season. It’s hard to overcome one of the worst offensive lines in the NFL, according to Pro Football Focus.

To answer the original question, it is time to worry. But the unfortunate thing is it has been time to worry since Laremy Tunsil’s injury. That’s when the Commanders went from potentially adequate to downright awful on the offensive line.