As George Carlin once said, somewhere there’s a doctor who is the worst doctor in the world. And he’s seeing patients tomorrow.
We’ve now seen the worst example of clock mismanagement by an NFL coach in years, if not ever. And Dan Quinn may not be working tomorrow.
The inexplicable failure to attempt what would have been a game-winning field goal because the clock ran out becomes the most baffling, inexcusable failure to turn a potential win into not a win.
The Commanders had the ball at the Giants’ 26 with 55 seconds left in overtime, on a stopped clock. The Commanders ran the ball, gaining two yards.
And the clock ticked. And ticked. And ticked.
They huddled.
And the clock ticked. And ticked. And ticked.
The Commanders eventually snapped the ball with three seconds on the play clock, and 12 on the game clock. Quarterback Jayden Daniels began to drop back for a throw before running the ball, losing a yard.
When the play ended, eight seconds remained. Then seven. Then six. They eventually realized what was happening. Then five. Then four. By the time they lined up to try to spike the ball and kill the clock, the clock had killed them.
There’s no explanation for it. And it ultimately lands on the man in charge of the team on game day.
The question now becomes what the people in charge of the organization will do. One of the owners has already chimed in.
“I’m in total disbelief my Commanders had such poor clock management in today’s overtime game against the Giants,” limited partner Magic Johnson said on Twitter. “All we had to do was kick the field goal and we would have won the game!”
He added a facepalm emoji. Perhaps only because there’s no pink-slip emoji.
It’s ultimately the prerogative of majority owner Josh Harris as to whether Quinn will survive this come Monday. Even if he does, it now becomes much harder for him to survive come Black Monday.