Kevin Sheehan understands why they didn't, but explains why he would've kicked the field goal on fourth and two

On fourth down and two at the Eagles’ 26-yard line, with the Commanders down 12-10 with just over eight minutes left, Dan Quinn chose to go for it rather than try a field goal that would put his team up.

“It did, but we also felt strongly there,” was Quinn’s answer when asked if the Eagles’ offense coming alive in the fourth quarter played into the decision.

The play was doomed from the start as Jayden Daniels bobbled the snap and ended up being run out of bounds for no gain, and was made worse when the Birds marched down the field and scored a touchdown within three minutes to go up 19-10.

But was it just bad execution, or a bad idea, or both?

“So Jayden throws to Bates, and I thought it was a first down, but it was second and inches, and now it’s like, we did have that 58-yard drive in the first half that looked like it's looked all season long, but the game’s on the line and Jayden’s four of five on this drive…and they give the ball to Brian Robinson and he gets nailed, and then it’s third and one and he gets nailed again,” Kevin Sheehan said of the plays leading up to fourth down. “Now it’s fourth and two and there are eight minutes to go and the ball’s at the 26-yard line, so it’s going to be a 43 or 44-yard field goal attempt down 12-10. And to me, I would have kicked the field goal; I felt that way in the moment, and I still feel that way today.”

Hindsight is 20/20 of course, but here’s why Kevin felt that way in the moment:

“The two preceding plays you went backwards on runs, and Philadelphia was getting immediate penetration; they had three sacks and five tackles for loss in the game, and one had just happened, so you are going up against a defense that is winning at the line of scrimmage,” Sheehan said. “I’m assuming the analytics said go for it, but context would have mattered and did matter to me in that moment, and that is the preceding plays heading into that one.”

That, and how do you give up points that can give you a lead with eight minutes left in a game where the other team’s kicker is shaky?

“How about a lead with eight minutes to go in this massive game, in which you have not played well? They've played much better than you have, and you've got the lead with eight minutes to go,” Sheehan said. “Keep in mind the Eagles had 10 points in the second half and it did feel a little bit like the defense was starting to bend a little bit, if not on the verge of being gassed and being broken, but the kicker for the other team had been a mess all night. If you could have just said we can get a stop and maybe he’ll miss another kick, or maybe he'll make it but we'll get another shot, so I would have kicked the field goal. The confidence in the kicker should have been there, because Zane Gonzalez hasn’t missed.”

Surely there was a reasonable explanation to go for it, and it was probably ‘try to get the defense as big a lead as possible’ by scoring a touchdown (or getting to a point where you had to kick), and maybe, Kevin thought, the Commanders thought they’ve had a lot of success on fourth down and had a really good play idea dialed up.

“It’s not unreasonable, I think, and I think there are justifications for going for it, but for me, the reasons I gave would have outweighed those, and I would have kicked the field goal,” Sheehan said. “I felt in the moment I wanted to see a 13-12 lead, and I didn’t trust the offense even though that drive looked as good as any drive until the two plays – when you go backwards on two plays prior to a fourth down that you're gonna go for, it's not the best feeling in the world. I can understand the mindset, I just would have made a different decision.”

And then, of course, the play never had much of a chance, and the rest is history.