Dan Quinn came out of the Washington Commanders’ bye week with an injury update he was clearly happy to give. Defensive tackle Jer’Zhan “Johnny” Newton, who tore a pectoral muscle in training camp and had surgery, has had his 21-day practice window opened. “Man, he has worked his ass off,” the Commanders head coach said on Wednesday. “He was injured in preseason game number one, and I’m pumped to have him back out at practice.”
Washington is 1-4-1 and hosts the 2-5 Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday night. “I think it’s two angry teams wanting to fight to the last snap,” Quinn said. “What I’m really digging in and pushing on, man, I’m looking for winning football for all four quarters.”
Tunsil, Kinlaw and Diggs
Left tackle Laremy Tunsil, who tore a triceps in training camp, is not close to returning, but Quinn said the recovery is on track. “He is just a few weeks away from his next visit to check where the healing is,” he said. “His next appointment’s just weeks away, not months away. All the steps that we’ve had, he’s hit. He’s healing, so he’s where we expected him to be.”
Quinn said Javon Kinlaw is “likely going to be tough to make it” this weekend. Stefon Diggs did not practice on Wednesday but will be back in full on Thursday, he said, and that kind of early-week rest will be “more common than not” from now on. The team signed receiver Van Jefferson from its practice squad this week after placing Terry McLaurin on injured reserve with a season-ending knee injury.
Quinn also said rookie receiver Antonio Williams is showing “the natural progression that you’d hope to see.” “He came in with a very good football IQ, probably higher than most,” he said, adding that Diggs and others have helped him with routes.
Inside the bye-week self-scout
Quinn would not reveal scheme changes but said the bye-week review was “a thorough process” in all three phases: “what needs to be trimmed down, what do we add, where does other emphasis go.” He said he does the team self-scout himself, watching each game in order, “from the kickoff to the defensive snaps to the punt return,” while the research and development staff flags where Washington ranks high or low, such as red-zone pass defense. “It’s one thing to have the info,” he said. “It’s another thing, ‘This is what we’re going to do about it.’”
He backed offensive coordinator David Blough and defensive coordinator Daronte Jones, both first-time coordinators. “Sometimes the on-the-job training is difficult, but it’s also the most effective way,” he said. “If that had been the case, ‘I’m going to shut the door and figure it out on my own,’ I said, ‘Boy, we got a problem.’ What I have been impressed by is their willingness to learn, to dig in, to ask questions.”
Pass rush, Ekeler and the second half against San Francisco
On the pass rush, Quinn said: “I’m not pleased with where we’re at, but I also know there’s plenty to go.” He said improving it was one of the main topics coming out of the bye and that he worked with that group himself on Wednesday.
Asked about the second half of the Week 6 loss to San Francisco, when, as a reporter noted, his defense forced three straight three-and-outs on the last three drives, Quinn said the game was unusual because Washington had usually started faster than it finished. “We’re going to respond. The second half’s going to be ours,” he recalled. “I go, ‘Shit, we forgot to play in the first half.’ So how do you do it for the whole time?”
He said running back Austin Ekeler is ready for more work now that he has settled back into the system. “I feel his quickness. I feel his decisiveness,” Quinn said. “He’s able to handle a bigger workload now.”
“Constructive” adversity
Asked how this group differs from his 2024 and 2025 teams, Quinn said he likes “the work ethic and the connection of the ’26 team.” “There’s energy that can get created through adversity, constructive or destructive,” he said. “With this team, I see it being constructive. Had it been the other way of finger pointing or blame, I’d been concerned.” He told the players on Monday that the next three games include three conference games and two division games, then brought the focus back to Sunday. “The only way this chase begins is by our best this week,” he said.
On the close losses, including the earlier game against Philadelphia, he said: “This is a great rivalry of games. A lot of the games we’ve had with them have been tight. And those are the moments that you want, as a competitor, to be in that spot.”
The Eagles play at the Commanders on Sunday, November 1, at 8:20 p.m. ET, which is 3:20 a.m. Monday in Cairo.
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