Quinn also saw better individual performances from players. The offensive line featured multiple standout performances, from Sam Cosmi, who Quinn said had his best game of the season against the Broncos, to Laremy Tunsil, who allowed just two pressures when matched up against Broncos outside linebacker Nik Bonitto. On defense, cornerback Mike Sainristil had one of his best games of the season, allowing just four receptions for 22 yards while lined up as a perimeter cornerback.
Quinn said the team played the entire game with a “next play mindset.”
“There was zero flinch on the offense, and it wasn’t like, ‘Oh here we go,’ none of that. We got stopped in the fourth quarter offensively; the defense was ready to go get a stop. And so, I thought there was this resilience for the next play. If that one went to six quarters, we were going to be down to fight.”
Although Quinn admitted the last two overtime losses “stung a lot,” the Commanders showed that they don’t have any plans to quit on the season with five games left on the schedule. They intend to win as many of them as they can, because that kind of momentum can carry over into next year. There also remains plenty to learn about the roster between seeing how much the defense can improve to getting the offense up to full strength.
The Commanders also want to ensure that their standard doesn’t change, regardless of the circumstance, and that is just as important to Quinn as getting a better look at his personnel for the future.
“It’s really important building those habits for everybody who’s coming back here knowing this is the standard. This is what we like,” Quinn said. “It’s not rules; it’s standards, and it’s not something you follow. This is how we do things, and I think that’s a big difference.”