Could not challenging a call come back to haunt Dan Quinn?
The Commanders head coach did not throw the red challenge flag on a questionable catch by Eagles wide receiver DeVonta Smith in the first quarter with Washington down 7-3 in Sunday’s NFC championship game in Philadelphia.
The 20-yard pass to Smith along the sideline put the Eagles deep inside Commanders’ territory, but upon closer examination, it looked as though Smith didn’t have both feet inbounds.
Smith’s left foot is very clearly down, but his right foot was dangerously close to the sideline and there appeared to be an argument to be made whether it was inbounds or not.
Quinn never took out the challenge flag, though, and the opportunity disappeared when the Eagles rushed to the line of scrimmage and got the next play off.
The Commanders did not get off to the best start on Sunday, with a trip to Super Bowl 2025 on the line.
Eagles star running back Saquon Barkley rushed for a 60-yard touchdown on Philly’s second offensive play of the game.
Washington fumbled on their next possession and then Barkley scored his second touchdown of the game on a 4-yard run.
Quinn did show a bit of ingenuity when he ran a fake punt pass to keep a late first quarter drive alive.
The play allowed the Commanders to eventually kick a 46-yard field goal to make it a 14-6 deficit.
However, things didn’t get much better after that with the Eagles putting up 27 first-half points and going into the locker room with a 27-15 lead.
Quinn is in his first year as the head coach of the Commanders and should Washington win on Sunday, he would become just the eighth coach to take two different teams to the Super Bowl.
Quinn coached the Falcons in a loss to the Patriots — after holding a 28-3 lead — in Super Bowl LI.
Washington would be making its first appearance in 33 years.
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