The first half of Monday night’s game included a failed fourth-and-two play by the Commanders from the San Francisco 13. After the pass in the end zone fell incomplete and the Commanders were called for an illegal shift, ESPN cameras caught Commanders coach Dan Quinn looking surprised to learn it was fourth down.
When he met with reporters about an hour after the game, Quinn was ready for a question about the viral lip-reading moment.
“I definitely knew it was the fourth,” Quinn said. “We were going for it, and I was — I think what you’re referring to, I was probably saying, like, with the illegal shift, there’s no penalty to go for a field goal. Like, it doesn’t go, like, it’s the turn on downs. Like, I think somebody asked me, ‘Can we kick a field goal?’ So, now we are going for it. We knew we had to go for some fourth downs to be bold in the game. I never thought the game would be 17-14. I probably thought it would take 28, 30 to score, you know, to win it. And so it was by design that we were going, but I know what happened. I think, I probably was just commenting that I remember, at least in the headset, somebody asked me, after an illegal shift, like turnover on downs, and [quarterback] Jayden [Daniels] also saw the foul. He also came out and saw the penalty.”
you can watch the clip and come to your own conclusion. Again, he seemed surprised, not telling a truth. And he clearly had his story ready when he arrived for his press conference — with plenty of time after the game to do so.
Obviously, after what happened last week, Quinn couldn’t admit that she didn’t know it was the fourth. Although he didn’t know it was the fourth.