LANDOVER, Md. -- Washington Commanders coach Dan Quinn prefers his inspiration to come from his words. Sunday, it came from his actions, as well -- and left him looking like a prizefighter following a bout.
With four seconds left in the first half of Washington's 41-24 win over the Las Vegas Raiders, Commanders quarterback Marcus Mariota was shoved out of bounds by safety Tristin McCollum -- and right into a backpedaling Quinn.
Quinn was knocked on his back, slamming his head on the ground and incurring a cut on the bridge of his nose. His baseball cap, which he wears backward, and headset were knocked off. He would receive treatment at halftime, though the cut on his nose did not require stitches. But he had visible bruises after the game and dried blood on his white mustache.
Quinn initially was tended to on the sideline and stayed there for Matt Gay's 56-yard field goal to end the first half. He then jogged to the locker room, and when he came out after halftime he gestured to his wife, Stacey, in the stands and kept coaching.
"It just represents who he is," linebacker Bobby Wagner said. "He talks about it all the time, just his mentality ... get knocked down, get back up and keep going. He literally did it. His nose is bleeding. Everything is bleeding, he had a cut. He stayed there locked in, got some treatment at halftime and came back out. It was cool to see.
"Everything he preaches to us we saw in that moment."
Whether coincidental or not, Washington -- whose resiliency was tested Sunday with quarterback Jayden Daniels, receiver Noah Brown (groin) and tight end John Bates (groin) all out -- outscored Las Vegas 14-0 in the third quarter to take a 34-10 lead into the final 15 minutes.
But although the players admired Quinn own resilience, the experience wasn't as fun for their coach.
"Probably like you expect," Quinn said when asked how it felt. "You don't want it to happen, but it's all good."
Mariota said he tried to avoid knocking over Quinn.
"I felt so bad," Mariota said. "I was trying to hold him up as much as I could. But he bounced up like a champ, so we're good."
Quinn also tried to deflect the attention, saying they all "had a good laugh about it." Then, when asked about Wagner's comment and what his words meant to him, Quinn instead talked about Wagner's leadership and how much fun he has coaching him.
Quinn is big on bringing in motivational speakers and is known for his phrases painted on the walls in the Commanders' practice facility -- "Anyone. Anywhere. Anytime," among them.
This time, though, he provided the inspiration at halftime just by showing up.
"He's strong, man," center Tyler Biadasz said. "He's a fighter, and we love that about him and what he stands for."
After Quinn got knocked down, players gathered around him -- Mariota even dabbed at some of the blood on his nose. Running back Chris Rodriguez Jr. said he didn't see the collision but watched the replay on the jumbotron.
"It was scary to see something like that," Rodriguez said. "I asked him if he was good. He came in here fired up at halftime, just coming in yelling, 'Let's go!'"
But there was a brief moment while he was getting treatment when the players weren't sure if Quinn would continue.
Wagner said they gathered in the locker room as doctors tended to Quinn. Suddenly, they were interrupted.
"It was kind of like a movie," Wagner said. "I'm getting ready to speak and he comes out of nowhere and says, 'I got it.' It was a cool moment. I'll remember that forever."