MADRID -- Following yet another frustrating day on the field, Washington Commanders guard Sam Cosmi wore a pained look, both for what happened and what awaited. The Commanders faced a nine-hour flight but first had to wait approximately three hours to take off. He estimated they'd get home around 1 or 2 in the morning. They packed their luggage, but unfortunately also brought the baggage of a 3-8 season after losing to Miami, 16-13 in overtime.
"We just sit in this misery right now," Cosmi said of the flight home.
It's been that kind of season for the Commanders, losers of their last seven games. A team that went 7-0 in games decided on the final play or in the last seconds last season have failed to do so once this season, losing two twice in that manner instead.
It's been a series of failures and disappointments, from key injuries to bad plays to, on occasion, bad luck.
No game typified that more than Sunday's loss in Spain. In the final four minutes of the game, Washington had: a fourth-and-1 pass fail because of a slip; a fumbled punt, and an overtime interception leading to a game-winning field goal for Miami.
"One play doesn't define a game, one play doesn't define a season," Washington tight end Zach Ertz said.
He's right, of course. But there are multiple plays that can sum up a season. Here are five:
A painful moment
The scene wasn't what the organization wanted or needed: their dynamic young quarterback lying on the ground, being treated by medical personnel and surrounded by teammates. Moments earlier, his left elbow had bent backward at the end of a tackle.
Jayden Daniels had already missed three games this season because of injuries (a sprained knee and injured hamstring).
But this time, Daniels was hurt midway through the fourth quarter with his team trailing 38-7. That led to a major debate: Why was he still in the game? One former NFL coach and multiple former players said that because the drive began with 12:30 remaining in the game, any coach would have kept him in. He needed the reps, this coach said. Another former coach said he probably would have removed him but wasn't adamant.
Quinn initially said he had no regrets leaving him in; a day later he recanted and said he failed Daniels. Multiple people close to Daniels said he wanted to stay in the game.
Fortunately for Daniels, X-rays were negative and an MRI showed no structural damage. He did not require surgery.
He hasn't yet been placed on injured reserve -- leading to, at some point potentially, a debate about whether he should play again with the team spiraling. Once more it'll come down to getting him more reps vs. making sure he's healthy entering the offseason. Quinn has mentioned wanting Daniels to learn how to handle scrambles better -- when to, as he says, turn it loose and when to save himself.
Daniels became the face of the franchise as a rookie. But it's possible he plays only six games this season.
Moment of hope
Three weeks into the season, Washington finally saw what it needed: Daniels and Terry McLaurin connecting on a 56-yard pass vs. the Las Vegas Raiders late in the third quarter.
After missing all of training camp due to a hold-out/hold-in, a strong connection between the two formed in 2024 had re-emerged.
McLaurin and Daniels connected 70 times last season for 944 yards and 12 touchdowns. But McLaurin's absence in camp impacted their chemistry.
Offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury said they needed to get "the feel, the timing, feel the depths of routes and things of that nature."
But the same play that brought smiles delivered weeks of pain.
On the play, McLaurin injured his right quad, whether from diving for the end zone or a defensive back falling on it. He has played one game since that catch -- and re-aggravated his quad on Oct. 27 at Kansas City. He hasn't played since.
Other key players have been hurt and their absences have caused an impact. But McLaurin was Washington's lone deep threat: He had five of their 10 receptions for 40-plus yards last season.
Without McLaurin, defenses have played more single-high man coverages with success. When facing man coverage last season, Washington's quarterbacks posted a 78.8 quarterback rating (out of 100) compared to 58.8 this season.
Whether McLaurin's injury was related to his holdout is hard to say. The bottom line is he has played in only four games and the offense has struggled.
From Hail to fail
After beating Chicago on a 52-yard Hail Mary in 2024, safety Jeremy Reaves said they knew they had "something special" happening. It didn't matter that they later endured a three-game losing streak. They followed that with five straight wins to end the regular season.
But, in the rematch a year later, instead of throwing a Hail Mary, Daniels bobbled the exchange from center on a third-and-1 that Chicago recovered at its own 44-yard line. Had Washington picked up the first down it could have either run out the clock with another first down or, at the least, pinned the Bears deep with a punt and little time remaining.
Instead, Daniels tried to hand the ball off to rookie running back Jacory Croskey-Merritt and lost control. The Bears recovered, the defense couldn't prevent them from driving another 36 yards and, this time, Chicago won the game, 25-24, on a last second field goal-capping an eight-point fourth-quarter comeback.
The loss was not all on Daniels for sure, though he did throw a first-quarter interception in the red zone as well. The defense then allowed more big plays with sloppy tackling.
And Washington hasn't won since.
Doomsday in Dallas
With 49 seconds left in the first half against the Cowboys, Washington finally felt good about the direction of its game. Daniels' 1-yard run cut the deficit to 20-15 and the Commanders would receive the second-half kickoff.
They were in a decent spot.
As long as nothing bad happened in the interim.
But it did.
On second-and-17 -- after a sack of quarterback Dak Prescott -- and with 30 seconds remaining, the Commanders showed just how much they were struggling on defense. With four receivers to the right and only wideout George Pickens on the left, Dallas had maneuvered a one-on-one situation vs. corner Marshon Lattimore.
The coverage was solid but the play turned into a great pass and catch for a 44-yard gain. Suddenly, momentum swung back to Dallas. Two plays later, the Cowboys took a 27-15 lead.
All season, Washington's pass defense has allowed one explosive play after another. The Commanders are tied with Chicago for most pass plays of 20 yards or longer.
And while this 44-yarder vs. Dallas wasn't the most egregious in this game -- CeeDee Lamb caught a 74-yard touchdown pass in the opening quarter -- the Pickens play came after a sack and at a time when Washington had a chance to finish the half feeling good. Instead, Daniels injured his hamstring on the opening drive of the second half, Dallas scored another touchdown and rolled, 44-22.
"The game really took a turn at the end of the half," Quinn said. "That was the hardest part."
The slip
On third down and goal from the 2-yard line against the Atlanta Falcons last season, Ertz, aligned about a yard to the left of the tackle and 1 yard deeper, started his route to the outside. He had caught touchdown passes earlier in the season on routes into the flat. The defense anticipated another one. Except he curled back to the inside as the defender leaned outside and Ertz caught the game-winning pass to beat Atlanta in overtime.
At 35 years old, Ertz has remained effective because of the emphasis he puts on details in his route-running; during special teams portions of practice he works with tight ends coach David Raih on his footwork.
But on a fourth-and-goal from the 1 vs. Miami on Sunday, Ertz started on that same route and cut inside. The play was there except this time Ertz stumbled and Marcus Mariota's pass fell incomplete.
Washington could have taken a 20-13 lead with 6 minutes, 6 seconds left in the game. Perhaps the Commanders would have still lost in overtime. More disasters followed, however: a fumbled punt; a missed 56-yard field goal at the end of regulation; an overtime interception that led to Miami's game-winning field goal.
"I was going to walk in probably if I don't slip like that," Ertz said. "A play I've ran probably 10,000 times in my career and never slipped like that. This is the first time they played an NFL game here. It was not ideal. There was a lot of slippage. But you can't blame it on the field by any means."