The San Francisco 49ers escaped with a victory over the Washington Commanders on Monday night by the skin of their teeth. They were outplayed in the second half and were able to hang on which might just bring Commanders head coach Dan Quinn closer to being fired.
Now, to be fair, Quinn's squad fought hard in the second half. The Commanders did not quit on their head coach, even though it seemed possible they might just roll over once San Francisco took a 23-3 lead in the third quarter. So, Quinn and the Commanders deserve credit for making that a game, which could have resulted in a disastrous Niners loss.
Still, the Commanders are now 1-4-1 on the season. They remain alive in the dreadful NFC East, but after the previous week's debacle when Washington completely blew it in the closing seconds and were not able to attempt a field goal, which led to a tie with the New York Giants it seemed like Quinn's job could potentially be in jeopardy.
Dan Quinn is swiftly looking like he's on his way out from Commanders
At halftime on Monday night, it may have crossed the minds of some Commanders fans that Quinn wouldn't even be allowed to come out for the second half.
In the first half, it appeared the coach didn't know the Commanders were on fourth down when quarterback Jayden Daniels inexplicably threw the ball away. After the game, Quinn claimed he knew it was fourth down, but it was not a great look especially, since the Commanders made a lot of self-inflicted errors in the first half.
Going back and attempting a lip-read after the play won't help Quinn's argument either.
It seemed like the irony of all ironies that 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan could end up playing a role in getting his former boss (Quinn was the head coach of the Atlanta Falcons when Shanahan was offensive coordinator) fired, but that flip of the script in the second half may buy Quinn at least a few more weeks.
The Commanders enter a bye week, so if they were to make a change, now would not be a terrible time to do it. Yet, that second half showing from Quinn's team will probably earn him a little bit more time to try to get things turned around.
He did lead the Commanders to an NFC Championship game appearance back in 2024 after all, so perhaps he has earned some more time to figure it out.
Still, if the Commanders continue to lose and continue to make foolish mistakes, then the game in San Francisco will be remembered as having played a part of Quinn's Washington downfall.
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