Green Bay Packers sack artist Micah Parsons won’t play Sunday night against his old team, the Dallas Cowboys, but he’s nearing his return from the torn ACL that prematurely ended his first go-around with the Packers.
And, despite his on-field absence, his voice is still being heard, including on his Bleacher Report show, “The Edge with Micah Parsons,” where the five-time Pro Bowler blamed Jayden Daniels for the Washington Commanders’ embarrassing clock mismanagement in the final moments of their 27-27 tie against the New York Giants over the weekend.
“Jayden Daniels probably cost my man Dan Quinn his job, to be honest with you,” Parsons said on an episode that was clipped early Tuesday.
Quinn was Parsons’ Dallas Cowboys defensive coordinator for three seasons from 2021-23. During that span, Parsons became NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year and earned three All-Pro honors.
Parsons continued: “I’m a big Jayden Daniels fan, but, the reality is, he probably cost a lot of people their jobs this past weekend.”
The Commanders (1-3-1) were gifted another chance at a Week 5 win in overtime once the Giants (3-1-1) turned the ball over. Washington recorded the takeaway on New York’s second series of the extra frame. On the Giants’ first, kicker Dominic Zvada missed a potential game-winning 46-yard field goal.
Then New York running back Cam Skattebo fumbled away an opportunity for Zvada to try one more kick. Washington, which led 27-13 early in the fourth quarter, quickly reached field-goal range. Instead of spiking the ball to set up a game-winning field goal attempt, the Commanders opted for one final play before that possible kick.
Daniels dubiously took a sack and stayed on the ground for a few seconds before seemingly remembering the gravity of the situation. Washington had no timeouts, and the clock was ticking. Most of the starting offense didn’t appear to have a sense of urgency.
Ultimately, Daniels and Co. scurried to spike the ball, but they couldn’t get lined up in time to do so, and the game unceremoniously concluded with the score tied.
“All respectfully, we get coached so much on these situations that I’m a defensive player and this is programmed to me,” Parsons said. “I know what to do in those situations.”
Parsons went on: “There’s no way I’m taking a sack with 14 seconds left and no timeouts. And, mind you, it’d be different if Jayden Daniels was a rookie. This is your third year. You’ve been to the NFC championship game, you’ve been in big moments before. To me, even after the sack, you’re casually getting up. … I’m like, ‘You just took a sack …’ He’s not even urgently getting up.”
“If people want to say QBs win or lose games, and as you can see, they just won or lost the game on the QB’s hands, this is your job, bro. …This is your job to be prepared, to understand the game and understand situations. That’s in your job profile. And you’re telling me, ‘Oh, we’re going to pay this guy eventually $60 million?’ This cannot happen.”
“All respectfully, we get coached so much on these situations that I’m a defensive player and this is programmed to me,” Parsons said. “I know what to do in those situations.”
Parsons went on: “There’s no way I’m taking a sack with 14 seconds left and no timeouts. And, mind you, it’d be different if Jayden Daniels was a rookie. This is your third year. You’ve been to the NFC championship game, you’ve been in big moments before. To me, even after the sack, you’re casually getting up. … I’m like, ‘You just took a sack …’ He’s not even urgently getting up.”
“If people want to say QBs win or lose games, and as you can see, they just won or lost the game on the QB’s hands, this is your job, bro. …This is your job to be prepared, to understand the game and understand situations. That’s in your job profile. And you’re telling me, ‘Oh, we’re going to pay this guy eventually $60 million?’ This cannot happen.”
Daniels was playing in his third game of the season and his first since dislocating his left elbow again. That injury took place in Week 2 at Dallas.
The 2024 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year dazzled at times during his return, particularly with his legs. Wearing a brace on the elbow of his non-throwing arm, he ran for 103 yards and a pair of scores. Plus, the former No. 2 overall pick completed 17 of 25 passes for 199 yards.
His talent remains tantalizing. But more than a season has passed since he piloted Washington to its first NFC title game in 33 years. His durability has been questioned, and, on Sunday, his leadership was put under a magnifying glass.
Quinn took responsibilty and admitted that the right call would have been to simply stop the clock with a spike or throwaway out of bounds. They didn’t need to gain more yards; they could have attempted a potential game-winning field goal earlier, Quinn said.
He also told reporters that the end-of-game sequencing “does not fall on” Daniels, who didn’t get into specifics about what went down in that fateful situation. In the locker room, Commanders left guard Chris Paul said via 7News DC’s Scott Abraham that Washington not having any timeouts left was discussed in the huddle before the final snap, but other players gave less convincing answers when asked about the matter.
“We’ve got to stop the clock,” Daniels said postgame. “We’ve got to know the situation. We’ve got to relay that as an offense. It starts with everybody, top down. Ultimately it’s on me.”
Some fans wanted more from Daniels at the mic, and so did Parsons.
“I would like to see more accountability myself,” he said. “And I’m a player. I’m a big JD5 fan, but that’s inexcusable, bro. The lack of urgency, that’s something … I would’ve had to say something in the locker room. I would’ve had to come talk to him, like, ‘Yo, that’s not OK.'”
Parsons emphasized that situations like the one Daniels ostensibly spaced on are drilled home repeatedly during an NFL season.
“Every day,” he said. “Like on Wednesday, we bring up end of half four-minute drill. We talk about it. Thursdays, we literally do two-minute situations. We change the clock, change the time, change the point differential. They need a score, gotta-have-it situation, whatever. We do those situations every week.
“On Fridays, red-zone situations, we talk about it. What’s the mindset? … We go through all these situations every week, so there’s no way that you don’t know these situations. We even go through mock games where we walk through these situations. So, to me, this is a lack of preparation, a lack of mentality and a lack of urgency by the man on campus. That just can’t happen.”
“Every day,” he said. “Like on Wednesday, we bring up end of half four-minute drill. We talk about it. Thursdays, we literally do two-minute situations. We change the clock, change the time, change the point differential. They need a score, gotta-have-it situation, whatever. We do those situations every week.
“On Fridays, red-zone situations, we talk about it. What’s the mindset? … We go through all these situations every week, so there’s no way that you don’t know these situations. We even go through mock games where we walk through these situations. So, to me, this is a lack of preparation, a lack of mentality and a lack of urgency by the man on campus. That just can’t happen.”
While Quinn was at the helm for the Commanders’ storybook run to the NFC championship just two seasons ago, he’s now 18-20-1 during his stay in Washington. Since a 3-2 start last season, Quinn’s Commanders are 3-13-1.
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