Inside the 'chaotic' practice the Commanders hope pays off big

Dan Quinn had a special type of practice in mind for his Washington Commanders on the final day of training camp. One that he says was born of the many experiences he and his squad had in 2024.

“Last season alone, we had 13 one-score games. We had around 20 or so, maybe 20 plus two minutes at the end of the halves,” the Commanders’ coach said before practice, preparing the attending media for the unique session they were about to witness. “And so, today you'll see us compete against ourselves, go against the clock, work different scenarios.”

The Method Behind the Chaos

But it wasn’t just game scenarios; it was high-stress football. On one snap, the first team offense had the ball at midfield before getting into what could be deep field goal range for Washington kicker Matt Gay, then suddenly, Quinn was on the loud speaker calling for his second-team offense to execute a two-point conversion against the first-team defense, and moments later running back Chris Rodriguez Jr. was punching in the critical attempt.

When you can’t manufacture a game-like atmosphere, you find new ways to create stress, and that certainly happened several times on the final day of camp.

“We're going to really lean into that hard today in preparation, really for the year to pressure test ourselves,” said Quinn. “Can we even get sharper? It's such a big part of what we do.”

Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels (5). | Eric Canha-Imagn Images

A 'Pressure Test' for Everyone

And the pressure was felt. On one occasion, quarterback Jayden Daniels was scanning the field, attempting to find an open receiver with the clock winding down and needing to get his Commanders team into better field goal range for a last-second kick. He and the receiver weren’t on the same page, and as the quarterback went to throw, he had to pull the ball down and then throw it away to avoid losing what was left of the clock.

It was simultaneously a smart decision by the quarterback to preserve his team’s chances of winning, and a frustrating moment, one that didn’t get lost just because it was practice.

Offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury praised Daniels’ game-like approach, even when practicing, and in that moment, the quarterback looked like a leader whose unit just squandered a chance to set their team up for better success.

When that situation arises in-game in 2025, and it will, the smart money would be on that rep being done much better the next time around. And that’s the method behind the chaos.

An Examination of Mental Makeup

Take your eye off the practice field for one play, and you might find yourself confused as to how the ball moved to where it did so quickly.

It was a stress test on the surface, but really it was an examination of the team’s mental makeup. Discovering who stays ready and who needs to get ready for the big moments to come as Washington looks to build off its amazing 2024 run.

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