Another issue for Jayden Daniels and another loss for Dan Quinn's Commanders create a new low

Coach Dan Quinn and the Washington Commanders hit a new low with their latest dismal showing, an eighth consecutive loss that officially eliminated them from playoff contention a year after they came within a victory of reaching the Super Bowl.

The 31-0 rout at the hands of the previously struggling Minnesota Vikings on Sunday featured a mediocre performance — and, continuing a troubling trend, early exit — by star quarterback Jayden Daniels, plus a bad-looking injury to tight end Zach Ertz for Washington (3-10).

“Baffling, frustrating, enraged,” Quinn said, summing up the day.

A season ago, Daniels was superb, leading Washington to a 12-5 record and earning AP NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year honors by completing 69% of his passes for 3,568 yards with 25 touchdowns and nine interceptions and running for 891 yards, at a clip of 6.0 per carry, with six TDs.

This season, he's been just OK — nothing more.

After going 9 for 20 for just 78 yards passing plus a pick on Sunday, Daniels owns a completion rate of 60.6 with 1,262 yards, eight touchdowns and three interceptions. His passer rating slid from 100.1 to 88.1. He's run for 278 yards, at 4.8 per carry, with two scores.

And after appearing in all 20 of the Commanders' games last season, including the playoffs, he's been in the lineup for only seven of 13, leaving before the end the past three times he played.

It was on the interception that Daniels got leveled by a Vikings defender and aggravated the dislocated left elbow that had sidelined him for more than a month.

“One of those fluke plays,” Washington linebacker Bobby Wagner said.

One game after seeming to play like a real NFL team in a tight overtime defeat to the Denver Broncos, prompting Quinn to say, “We lost, but we’re not lost anymore,” the Commanders were as inept as ever.

“I thought we took a step forward last week,” Quinn said after the disaster against Minnesota, which came in a four-game losing streak, “and tonight I thought we took three steps back.”

On Sunday? Absolutely nothing. “That’s not even a tough day at the office,” receiver Terry McLaurin said. “That’s just bad.” From giving up three turnovers (backup quarterback Marcus Mariota had one fumble and one interception) to forcing none, from not scoring to an inability to slow Minnesota, and so on. “When you miss the mark like we did,” Quinn observed, “you’ve got to look at it all and question it.”

The defense. After looking better during the past two games with defensive coordinator Joe Whitt Jr. stripped of play-calling duties, that unit was once again unable to do anything — even against a Vikings team that got shut out last week and had gone more than 20 consecutive possessions without a touchdown. And even against QB J.J. McCarthy, who came in with a 57.9 passer rating, a 54.1 completion percentage, six TD throws and 10 interceptions. All he did was go 16 for 23 for 163 yards and his first NFL game with three scoring passes and lead one ridiculous drive that lasted 19 plays, 98 yards and took 12:01 off the clock.

Any tight end that faces Washington. On Sunday, it was Josh Oliver, who went into the day with seven catches all season and produced the first two-TD game of his NFL career. He only once finished any of his previous five seasons with a total of three scores.

Quinn. The number of games in which the Commanders have failed to be competitive keeps rising.

Quinn said he feared Ertz tore the ACL in his right knee; the No. 5 tight end in career receptions was expected to have an MRI exam on Monday. ... Quinn said Daniels could have gone back into the game Sunday but the coach decided to keep him out.

Zero — The number of points for Washington; the club hadn't been shut out since 2019.

Four meaningless games against NFC East rivals remain, starting next Sunday at the just-as-terrible New York Giants (2-11). It'll be worth monitoring how much Quinn and GM Adam Peters give extra playing time to some younger players to see what the roster contains — and, of course, what happens with Daniels the rest of the way.

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

Minnesota Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy (9) runs with the ball during the first half of an NFL football game against the Washington Commanders, Sunday, Dec. 7, 2025, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Matt Krohn)

Minnesota Vikings tight end Josh Oliver (84) celebrates next to Washington Commanders cornerback Jonathan Jones after scoring a touchdown during the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Dec. 7, 2025, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

Washington Commanders head coach Dan Quinn talks to linebacker Frankie Luvu (4) on the sideline during the first half of an NFL football game against the Minnesota Vikings, Sunday, Dec. 7, 2025, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

Washington Commanders tight end Zach Ertz (86) hits the ground after not being able to catch a pass between Minnesota Vikings linebacker Blake Cashman, left, and safety Jay Ward during the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Dec. 7, 2025, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels (5) walks off the field after an NFL football game against the Minnesota Vikings, Sunday, Dec. 7, 2025, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Matt Krohn)

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — A business jet carrying nine people nose-dived into a South Florida neighborhood Sunday and erupted into a giant fireball that appeared to just miss homes before crashing near a busy roadway. Everyone on board was killed, the nation's transportation secretary said.

Video recorded by people inside their cars captured the terrifying moment the Bahamas-bound aircraft plunged from the sky, before striking near the roadway and exploding. Flames flickered around chunks of pavement lining the crater as people milled about, expressing shock that it landed only feet from homes and inches from passing vehicles. Thick black smoke engulfed the crash site.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy posted on X that the Learjet 60 crashed in Palm Beach County at 12:50 p.m. and called it a “horrific tragedy.” The Federal Aviation Administration is sending a team to support the National Transportation Safety Board’s investigation, he said.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said there were no immediate reports of anyone on the ground injured or killed.

“It was a cataclysmic plane crash,” DeSantis told reporters at the scene. “It looked like a missile going down and left a big crater on the side of the road.”

Rain pounded the region on Sunday. A flood watch due to excessive rainfall was in effect through Monday afternoon, the National Weather Service said.

The aircraft had departed Austin-Bergstrom International Airport in Texas and was headed to the Bahamas, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. Authorities did not immediately say what caused the jet to go down or who was on it.

The plane was heading east at 35,000 feet (about 11 kilometers) when pilots reported turbulence, icing and precipitation and requested to climb 2,000 feet (about 610 meters).

Moments later, the plane entered a steep dive, first 10,000 feet per minute, then 20,000 feet per minute and up to 30,000 feet per minute, speeding the plane beyond its design limits, according to air traffic control recordings and flight tracking data.

A pilot declared an emergency and issued distress calls. The plane banked sharply to the right before it crashed steeply into the ground.

Minutes before the crash, the pilot reported ice accumulating on the jet and turbulence that was jolting it by as much as 700 feet, according to air traffic control recordings captured by LiveATC.net.

“We have light, clear ice that is manageable and moderate turbulence,” the pilot told controllers.

But the situation rapidly deteriorated. After encountering precipitation and requesting to climb, the pilot declared an emergency as the aircraft began losing altitude at an alarming rate.

“We’re descending 8,000 – mayday, mayday - we’re descending 10,000 feet per minute,” the pilot radioed.

“We are in an overspeed condition descending 20,000 feet per minute,” the pilot radioed, before delivering a devastating acknowledgment of what was about to happen. “We’re going to crash into the ground.”

Jim Reynolds, a spokesperson for Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, said the jet was a private aircraft. He could not immediately provide details about who was on the flight.

Palm Beach County authorities are evacuating about 600 people from a nearby mobile home community while federal officials investigate the crash. The road will be closed until further notice, county officials said.

Law enforcement respond to a plane crash in Palm Beach County, Fla., on Sunday, Nov. 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Mark Elias)

Law enforcement respond to a plane crash in Palm Beach County, Fla., on Sunday, Nov. 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Mark Elias)

Law enforcement respond to a plane crash in Palm Beach County, Fla., on Sunday, Nov. 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Mark Elias)