LANDOVER, Md. – The star of Dan Quinn’s first win as head coach of the Washington Commanders may know him the least of any of his teammates. But, playing for his fifth NFL team after signing this past week, Washington kicker Austin Seibert has figured out pretty quickly what distinguishes the former Falcons coach from his past coaches.
“The positivity,” Seibert said. “I can’t really explain it. Everyone wants everyone to do well. We want to win here and it’s just a really good environment to be in. I can’t really explain it other than that. It’s just a great work environment. Think of the best work environment you can have. That’s just the energy in the building.”
Onboarded into such a setting, Seibert lifted Washington to its first win of the season with a preposterous day of swinging his right leg – kicking seven field goals (including the 30-yard game-winner as time expired) and accounting for all of the Commanders’ points in a 21-18 win over the New York Giants at Northwest Stadium on a brilliant Sunday afternoon. In more than a century of play, only one kicker has ever made more field goals in an NFL game (Tennessee’s Rob Bironas in 2007).
Seibert was signed by the Commanders after they jettisoned Cade York due to his ineffective play in the season-opening loss at Tampa Bay. Quinn’s sunny influence on his new kicker is debatable – it clearly didn’t do much for York – but it surely didn’t hurt.
“He’s easy to talk to,” Seibert said. “He came up to me before the game, he’s like, ‘You’ve done this 1,000 times. Just go out there and do your thing,’ He trust me to do that.”
And, after the loss to the Buccaneers last Sunday, Quinn’s Commanders tenure has its first win. A franchise that last recorded a winning season in 2016, hasn’t won a playoff game since the 2005 season and cratered under the direction of former owner and walking disgrace Dan Snyder has put its hopes on owner Josh Harris, new general manager Adam Peters, quarterback and No. 2 overall pick Jayden Daniels and Quinn.
“I was really pumped for the fans here for (Sunday),” Quinn said. “A win here – I felt ‘em, I heard it and so I thought that was just really cool to start that relationship together with the team and the city, so that was cool.”
Quinn was hired by Washington in February after three exemplary years as defensive coordinator of the Dallas Cowboys, the post that followed his firing from the Falcons in Oct. 2020. The positivity and team-centered culture that Quinn sought to infuse the Falcons with during his 5 ½ seasons in Atlanta – perhaps best remembered for the “Brotherhood” concept that he created with the team – have become a part of the Commanders’ way.
“He’s very family, man,” linebacker Frankie Luvu told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “Everything that we do is amongst us and it stays in the locker room. Keeping that family environment, it’s only going to get us better.”
Commanders wide receiver Olamide Zaccheaus, one of three Commanders who played for Quinn with the Falcons (linebackers Dante Fowler Jr. and Mykal Walker are the others) recognize Quinn’s imprint.
“I think DQ’s just always been that guy, been who he is now,” Zaccheaus told The AJC. “Just a little different perspective, I guess, on certain things, but he’s always going to bring energy, he always wants us to be loose and have fun but also play really hard and be very detailed at the same time. Just glad to be back with him and happy to continue building with him.”
Quinn, who has said that he is a better person and coach since his time with the Falcons, has a big job ahead of him. When Harris bought the team in 2023, the franchise was in a state of disrepair following the failed ownership of Snyder. The incompetence chased away fans from a franchise that had once been the standard of the NFL.
As kickoff approached at Northwest Stadium, the concourses and stands bustled with the excitement that attends a home opener. For some fans, like the one wearing the jersey of 1960′s and 70′s era quarterback Billy Kilmer, there was too much scar tissue to place immediate faith in the Harris/Peters/Quinn team.
“I don’t know; it’s too early to tell,” said Chip Pocock, the middle link of three generations of season-ticket holders in his family. “New ownership, Snyder gone, it’s a flip of the coin.”
And a game that may not have done much to build fans’ trust ensued. The Commanders reached the red zone six times – the first five times getting inside the Giants 10-yard line – but settled for field goals each time. They were undone by false-start penalties on four of the possessions. For a coach trying to instill execution and attention to detail, it was a bit of a messy showing.
As a result, Washington won by a mere last-second field goal despite outgaining the Giants 425-304 and scoring on all seven non-kneeldown possessions. And the Giants, it’s worth pointing out, were crushed 28-6 last week at home by Minnesota. Further, New York had to play without kicker Graham Gano after he got hurt on the opening kickoff, which left the Giants unwilling to attempt field goals or extra-point kicks after punter Jamie Gillan shanked his first (and only) extra-point try.
Daniels, the Heisman Trophy winner from LSU, is a marvel. He throws quickly and accurately and has run offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury’s scheme with poise. In two games, he has completed 40 of 53 passes for 410 yards without an interception (or a touchdown). As Quinn begins his second attempt as a head coach, it’s a great piece of the puzzle to have.
Washington and Quinn will see the Falcons in late December in Landover in the second-to-last regular-season game for both teams. It’s anybody’s guess what the game will mean for both teams at that point.
Before the game-winning kick, “I took a couple deep breaths, like, ‘Alright, Austin, here we go, man,’” Quinn said.
And the kicker who has embraced his new coach’s positive vibes rewarded him with his first win.
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