Dan Quinn is using his defensive history to build the Commanders' offense

Washington Commanders head coach Dan Quinn has an interesting approach when working to help improve the Commanders' offense.

Most recently, Quinn was the Dallas Cowboys' defensive coordinator and was forced to face Washington twice a year since 2021. 

Yet, now that he is in control of not only Washington's defense but offense as well, he has been able to use the knowledge he learned on the other side of the ball to help Jayden Daniels and the offense create big plays. When asked about what makes his offense hard to defend in the run game in Tuesday's press conference before practice, Quinn said:

“The runs and the play passes that can look alike, a pull with a pass. Ones that look the same because when you really start running, you better get downhill as a backer or a safety to get in the right fit, and then here comes a play pass that rips with it…”

“That's, to me, where the challenges are, and then the motions that come with it.”

His job in Dallas was to find the weak points of an offense while strengthening its defense, but in Washington, those roles are flipped, as he uses his defensive knowledge to poke holes in opposing teams' schemes. Creating plays that look the same, disguised with a motion or option, is Quinn’s game plan to get opposing defenses thinking, rather than knowing where the ball is going to go. 

He said that the motion causes confusion, which is “generally the hardest part [on defense].” 

“Some of the big plays live in the passing plays aren't all drop-back plays,” Quinn said. “So many of them are on a play pass that allowed a defensive player to step up, and you throw one behind him. Those are ones where you see sometimes from Noah Brown. It's a hard run action, and that is one of the things that he does. 

Jayden Daniels zips it to Noah Brown to move the sticks

NYGvsWAS on FOXhttps://t.co/HkKw7uXVntpic.twitter.com/tATX9BM9MV— NFL (@NFL) September 7, 2025

Jayden Daniels found Noah Brown for an 18-yard first down in Sunday's 21-6 win over the Giants on Washington's first touchdown drive. 

Instead of thinking of creativity as trick plays, Quinn has created more dynamic looks in his offense that benefit the ground and the passing game. 

This article originally appeared on Commanders Wire: Commanders' Dan Quinn has a creative approach to building offense