Dan Quinn's defense was better than Joe Whitt Jr.'s, but the Washington Commanders keep losing

Dan Quinn's defense was better than Joe Whitt Jr.'s has been. Otherwise, the Washington Commanders made the sorts of mistakes — Marcus Mariota's overtime interception, Matt Gay's flubbed field-goal attempts, Mike Sainristil's dropped punt and so on — that are contributing to a failure of a season.

“I guess we just found a way to lose,” right guard Sam Cosmi said after the latest in a series of such results, a 16-13 OT defeat against the Miami Dolphins on Sunday in Spain.

A year after surprising everyone by going 12-5 and reaching the NFC title game, Washington is surprising folks again, just in a bad way, entering its bye week at 3-8 after six consecutive setbacks.

“We’re all mad over the month that’s been,” Quinn said.

It's actually been longer: The Commanders' most recent victory came on Oct. 5, at the Los Angeles Chargers. That made Washington 3-2.

A week later came a one-point home loss to the Chicago Bears, and nothing's been the same since.

With AP NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year Jayden Daniels sidelined by injury, top target Terry McLaurin out, too, and plenty of other problems, Washington has seen its play become as poor as its health.

After traveling overseas for the latest bad result, linebacker Bobby Wagner said: “It’s a long way to travel to come up short.”

Quinn as defensive play-caller. It's just one week, and it came against the mediocre Dolphins. Still, the head coach's move to demote defensive coordinator Joe Whitt Jr. appeared to pay off Sunday. It wasn't perfect — each of Miami's first three plays went for at least 10 yards; RB De’Von Achane gained 120 yards on 21 carries and 45 yards on five catches — but the improvement was noticeable. That included two stops of the Dolphins on drives that reached goal-to-go situations; they had been 13 for 13 in scoring touchdowns on such opportunities. There also was a sack on a cornerback blitz by Jonathan Jones, the type of thing that didn't happen under Whitt. Washington limited Miami to 13 points through four quarters and totals of 142 yards passing and 3 for 11 on third or fourth downs. “As players, we’ve got to go out and execute plays,” Wagner said. “Today we did a better job of that.”

The offense. It doesn't help that Daniels (dislocated left elbow) missed his fifth game of the season and McLaurin missed his seventh. Or that RB Austin Ekeler was lost for the season in Week 2. Or that WR Noah Brown is on injured reserve. Long drives that ended with nothing to show for them was a big problem. “This offense can score a lot of points,” Mariota said, “but if we’re not converting our red zone opportunities, it’s tough.”

WR Deebo Samuel. He had a game-best seven catches for 74 yards and Washington's lone TD. Samuel has team highs of 53 catches, 470 yards receiving and six total touchdowns this season.

Gay, who is now out of a job after getting released Monday. The Commanders are adding Jake Moody — he of the last-play winning kick against Washington last month — from the Chicago Bears' practice squad, a person told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the Commanders hadn't announced the move. He missed a potential game-winning field-goal attempt from 56 yards in the closing seconds of regulation, sending it wide right. “You just feel like you let your team down,” Gay said. “Got to make it. Cannot miss that kick.” He missed a 51-yarder earlier and finished 13 of 19 on field-goal tries this season, 68.4%. Only two kickers have been worse. Gay also was just 4 for 9 on attempts from 50 yards or more in a league where that sort of distance is nearly automatic for many kickers.

Mariota returned after leaving briefly in the second half with what he called a stinger on his right side, causing his throwing arm to get “tingly and numb.” He said it was “nothing major; something that every football player goes through.” WR-KR Jaylin Lane exited with an injured hip; that's why Sainristil was on the field for the punt that he dropped.

7 — The current slot for the Commanders in the first round of the 2026 draft.

Things do not figure to get much easier when Washington returns to action on Nov. 30 against the visiting Denver Broncos, who are on an eight-game winning streak and, at 9-2, are tied with the New England Patriots for the best record in the NFL. Like the Commanders, the Broncos are heading into their bye week.

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL

Washington Commanders cornerback Mike Sainristil (0) flies through the air after assisting with a tackle on Miami Dolphins tight end Greg Dulcich (85) during the first half of an NFL football game between the Washington Commanders and the Miami Dolphins in Madrid, Spain, Sunday, Nov. 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)

Washington Commanders quarterback Marcus Mariota (8) holds his head during a press conference after an NFL football game between the Washington Commanders and the Miami Dolphins in Madrid, Spain, Sunday, Nov. 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)

Washington Commanders place kicker Matt Gay (16) misses a field goal attempt to win the game during the second half of an NFL football game between the Washington Commanders and the Miami Dolphins in Madrid, Spain, Sunday, Nov. 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)

Washington Commanders quarterback Marcus Mariota (8) goes to ground after scrambling for a first down during the second half of an NFL football game between the Washington Commanders and the Miami Dolphins in Madrid, Spain, Sunday, Nov. 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

Washington Commanders head coach Dan Quinn celebrates after his team stopped a Miami Dolphins drive during the second half of an NFL football game between the Washington Commanders and the Miami Dolphins in Madrid, Spain, Sunday, Nov. 16, 2025.(AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)

BRISBANE, Australia (AP) — Steve Smith took a brilliant reflex catch to swing momentum just before Ben Stokes’ defiant half-century ended in a rush of England wickets Sunday, then he hit the winning runs in the second cricket test to give Australia a 2-0 Ashes lead.

Day 4 was a tale of two captains.

Set a target of 65 for victory after England was bowled out for 241 in the second innings, Australia raced to an eight-wicket win in 10 overs either side of a 20-minute interval as serious storms brewed to the southwest.

Jofra Archer was bowling around 150 kph (93 mph) under the lights and it only fired up Smith.

There were some theatrics involving the Australia captain and England's strike pace bowler, with Smith telling Archer to bowl faster after ducking a bouncer. He then ramped him for a boundary and hit the next ball for a six to bring up 1,000 test runs at the Gabba.

With Australia at 63-2 and needing just two runs to win, Smith hit a six to finish it and finished unbeaten on 23 from nine deliveries. Jake Weatherald was not out on 17.

Gus Atkinson took the wickets of Travis Head (22) and Marnus Labuschagne (3) as Australia chased quick runs.

England has been criticized for its bowling attack failing to hit the right lengths consistently, for its dropped catches and for its top-order again throwing away wickets chasing fast and furious runs.

But at least there was some encouragement for a few hours on a sunny Sunday afternoon at the Gabba, where Stokes reverted to some old-school test cricket and gave England a lead, albeit a small one.

England skipper Stokes curbed his attacking instincts, dispensing with Bazball and pragmatically setting about reviving England’s Ashes prospects.

England had resumed Sunday at 134-6, and took an hour and 36 minutes — 18.2 overs — to erase the first-innings deficit.

The Australian attack bowled a tight line and length and mixed it up with some short-pitch deliveries in an attempt to entice the usually aggressive England batters to have a go.

Stokes and Will Jacks (41) resisted the temptation for the entire first session, knowing that a wicket would expose the tailenders. It was a completely different approach to England’s usual attack-at-all costs mentality that has attracted wide criticism in the first two Ashes tests so far.

The seventh-wicket pair put on a 96-run stand to get England to the brink of the night session, but that ended when Smith — Australia's stand-in captain — took a stunning one-hander diving to his left at slip off Michael Neser's bowling to dismiss Jacks.

That was the momentum changer. The slide then happened quickly, with England losing four wickets for 17 runs to be all out for 241 in its second innings and Neser finishing with a five-wicket haul.

Stokes took a single to reach his 50 from 148 balls, the second-slowest half-century of his career. It was only four balls behind the 152 he took to make 50 at Headingley in 2019, where he scored an unbeaten 135 to guide England to a stunning, unexpected, one-wicket Ashes victory.

This time, he didn’t go on. The 34-year-old was caught behind by wicketkeeper Alex Carey standing up to the wickets to Neser.

Stokes twirled his bat in the air in disbelief and smacked his helmet as he strode back to the pavilion.

At that stage, England was 227-8. Brendan Doggett dismissed Atkinson to make it 231-9, with Smith taking a regulation catch this time. Neser (5-42) and Smith combined to remove Brydon Carse (7) to end the innings.

Australia won the series-opening test on Day 2 of the scheduled five. At least the second test went late into Day 4.

The third test starts Dec. 17 at the Adelaide Oval with England needing a win to have any chance of reclaiming the Ashes. The fourth test starts Boxing Day at the Melbourne Cricket Ground and Sydney will host the fifth test from Jan. 4.

AP cricket: https://apnews.com/hub/cricket

Australia's Josh Inglis, left, and Australia's captain Steve Smith celebrate the wicket of England's Gus Atkinson during the second Ashes cricket test match between Australia and England in Brisbane, Sunday, Dec. 7, 2025.. (AP Photo/Tertius Pickard)

Australia's Michael Neser, second left, celebrates with teammates the wicket of England's Will Jacks during the second Ashes cricket test match between Australia and England in Brisbane, Sunday, Dec. 7, 2025.. (AP Photo/Tertius Pickard)

England's captain Ben Stokes lies down after being hit by the ball during the second Ashes cricket test match between Australia and England in Brisbane, Sunday, Dec. 7, 2025.. (AP Photo/Tertius Pickard)

Australia's Michael Neser shows the ball after getting five wickets during the second Ashes cricket test match between Australia and England in Brisbane, Sunday, Dec. 7, 2025.. (AP Photo/Tertius Pickard)

England's captain Ben Stokes throws bat after loosing his wicket during the second Ashes cricket test match between Australia and England in Brisbane, Sunday, Dec. 7, 2025.. (AP Photo/Tertius Pickard)

England's captain Ben Stokes plays a shot during the second Ashes cricket test match between Australia and England in Brisbane, Sunday, Dec. 7, 2025.. (AP Photo/Tertius Pickard)

England's Will Jacks plays a shot during the second Ashes cricket test match between Australia and England in Brisbane, Sunday, Dec. 7, 2025.. (AP Photo/Tertius Pickard)

England's captain Ben Stokes reacts in the hot condition during the second Ashes cricket test match between Australia and England in Brisbane, Sunday, Dec. 7, 2025.. (AP Photo/Tertius Pickard)

England's captain Ben Stokes avoids a bouncer during the second Ashes cricket test match between Australia and England in Brisbane, Sunday, Dec. 7, 2025.. (AP Photo/Tertius Pickard)