There's plenty of blame to go around for the Commanders' overtime-ending debacle vs. the Giants

No one involved is blameless for the Washington Commanders' game-ending debacle against the New York Giants in overtime.

Coach Dan Quinn on Monday expressed frustration with multiple facets of the final play of the 27-27 tie, when Washington allowed the clock to run out while it was in range for a game-winning field goal.

With 55 seconds left and the ball at the Giants 26-yard line, the Commanders called a run play for Rachaad White that gained 2 yards and kept the clock moving. They substituted in multiple players and took their time snapping the ball, which didn't happen until 13 seconds left. A pass play was called, and Jayden Daniels took off running and was tackled inbounds without enough time left to run another play.

“Honestly just furious about our execution in the crucial moments of the game,” Quinn said on a video call with reporters. “We worked really hard on these and it didn’t look like yesterday.”

Quinn said the team wanted to use more clock after getting into field goal range, considering there had been missed kicks from both teams — New York rookie Dominic Zvada was 2 of 5 on field-goal attempts, while Washington's Drew Stevens had already missed an extra point.

“It took entirely too long from there on to execute our strategy, from subbing to clock awareness to clocking the ball,” Quinn said. “And what I told the team and the coaches is it was a breakdown that can’t happen.”

When asked about first-year offensive coordinator David Blough's role in the end-of-game scenario, Quinn took responsibility.

“It needs to be communicated then from me to David, who has the last words with Jayden on each down, not just a start of a drive,” Quinn said. “And so when there’s that time, you want to get to where the next one we’re able to clock and kick. And so those are the ones in subbing and too slow with that, our execution was just off.”

The play call itself was not unorthodox or unusual, Quinn said. But if the play had been run more quickly, the team would have had time to get back to the line of scrimmage, spike the ball to stop the clock and attempt a field goal.

Quinn agreed that the Commanders didn't show enough urgency, and that communication starts with him and has to flow from there. That begins with the substitutions, which Quinn said were unnecessary in hindsight.

Daniels' rushing ability. Playing with a brace on his left, non-throwing elbow after he dislocated it in Week 2, Daniels was effective as a rusher against the Giants. He finished with 103 yards rushing, including touchdowns of 38 and 26 yards.

Situational awareness. The Commanders had several miscues in the final minute of OT, one of which was Daniels' failure to recognize the situation and throw the ball away. Instead, he went down in the middle of the field.

“We have to stop the clock,” Daniels said afterward. “We have to know the situation. We have to relay that as an offense. It starts with everyone, top down. Ultimately, it’s on me.”

Chig Okonko. After missing two games (against the Cowboys in Week 2 and the Seahawks in Week 3), the tight end had four catches for 60 yards on six targets against the Giants. He had totaled four catches for 21 yards in his other two games this season.

Washington's second-half defense. The meltdown in the final minute obscured the fact that the Commanders allowed 24 points to the Giants in the third and fourth quarters.

New York scored three touchdowns and kicked a field goal on its final four possessions of regulation. In overtime, the Giants missed a field goal and fumbled in Commanders territory.

Excluding when Jameis Winston took a knee to end regulation, the Commanders allowed 332 yards on 56 plays — an average a 5.9 yards per play.

Quinn said that based on medical reports, he expects receiver Stefon Diggs (hamstring) and safety Nick Cross (illness) to return soon. Linebacker Javonte Jean-Baptiste suffered a pectoral injury, and Quinn said the team is awaiting more information.

95 — Second-half points allowed by the Commanders through five games. That includes 24 by the Giants.

The Commanders visit unbeaten San Francisco in a Monday night game on Oct. 19. Although the NFC East is considered wide open, Washington is two games behind the division-leading Giants and needs to stack wins in order to stay in the playoff mix.

See AP’s full NFL coverage here

Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels (5) looks at New York Giants linebacker Tremaine Edmunds (49) as he scores a touchdown during the second half of an NFL football game in Landover, Md., Sunday, Oct. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Washington Commanders head coach Dan Quinn gestures while talking to his team during the second half of an NFL football game against the New York Giants in Landover, Md., Sunday, Oct. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

Washington Commanders head coach Dan Quinn leaves the field after an NFL football game against the New York Giants in Landover, Md., Sunday, Oct. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels speaks during a press conference after an NFL football game in Landover, Md., Sunday, Oct. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

Washington Commanders head coach Dan Quinn speaks during a press conference after an NFL football game against the New York Giants in Landover, Md., Sunday, Oct. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

HALF MOON BAY, Calif. (AP) — A Rhode Island pumpkin grower appears to have broken the world record for the heaviest pumpkin, with his giant squash topping the current record by nearly 300 pounds (136 kilograms).

Ron Wallace of Greene, Rhode Island, weighed his pumpkin Saturday at a contest in New England and is now waiting for the Guinness Book of World Records to confirm he smashed the record, set about a week earlier by a grower in England. Wallace said he's been in contact with Guinness officials who say his record is on track to be verified.

“It’s truly massive, it was a pleasure to grow,” Wallace said Monday by phone.

The Guinness Book of World Records currently lists a 2,857-pound (1,296-kilogram) squash grown by Ian Paton, of Lymington, England, as the record holder, set on Oct. 3.

Guinness officials did not respond to a request for comment.

The record-breaking gourd comes as growers across the world are joining competitions this month in the hopes their pumpkins will be crowned king. In Northern California on Monday, a Minnesota grower won a prominent annual competition for the fifth time in a row.

Wallace went home with $3,500 at his local contest. He said other competitions tried to entice him with bigger prize money, some totaling $70,000, but it was important for him to be surrounded by his hometown for the record-setting win.

“I was just ecstatic, the place just exploded,” Wallace said, describing the moment the pumpkin was weighed.

Wallace says he owes a lot to the pumpkin-growing community who always freely share tips and tricks to grow the biggest gourd. For the first time this year, Wallace began growing his pumpkins in a greenhouse, which he says makes a big difference.

“The only way you create a 3,000-pound pumpkin is a community working together,” he said.

Wallace got into the hobby after starting his own business selling gardening supplies online. He's proud to be a part of the pumpkin-growing community and says competitions help legitimize growers. According to Wallace, the agriculture industry is increasingly reaching out to pumpkin-growers, asking for advice on soil and other growing techniques.

In Northern California, a pumpkin named Rocky won a major annual pumpkin-weighing contest, tipping the scale at 2,389 pounds (1,083 kilograms), but fell far short of a possible new world record.

Horticulture teacher Travis Gienger hauled his pumpkin across the country from Minnesota to win the contest for a fifth time. He's going home with $21,501 in prize money after beating dozens of other giant pumpkin-growers in Half Moon Bay, south of San Francisco.

He missed out on last year's contest because his pumpkin broke while growing. Hoping for a comeback story, he named this year’s pumpkin “Rocky” after the iconic boxer played by Sylvester Stallone.

“Five-time champion, that’s what we came here to do,” Gienger said following the win.

Gienger and his family drove 35 hours, lugging a pumpkin the size of a small car, to California.

Gienger grows his gourds in his backyard pumpkin patch in Anoka, a city on the banks of the Mississippi River north of Minneapolis, according to Ronan Fowler, the competition’s organizer. This year, Gienger had to deal with temperatures that dipped below freezing, and he says that in order to start competing more seriously, he’ll likely have to start growing pumpkins in a climate-controlled environment like Wallace.

“The fact that Travis can weather the elements, like 30-degree weather, and still grow this massive pumpkin is pretty unbelievable,” Fowler said.

Hundreds attended the 53rd World Championship Pumpkin Weigh-Off to enjoy food trucks, music, and pumpkin-related jokes. Earlier in the day, the crowd went wild when a very symmetrical pumpkin named Tinkerbell won the prettiest pumpkin contest.

The prize money was calculated at $9 per pound of pumpkin, and Gienger's winning gourd will be showcased during a parade through Half Moon Bay this weekend. Gienger missed out on an extra prize of $30,000 for breaking the world record.

Sadly, these giants are grown for their size, not flavor, so there were no giant pumpkin pies at the end of the festival.

Rodriguez reported from San Francisco.

A woman looks toward a pumpkin that will be entered in the Safeway World Championship Pumpkin Weigh-Off, Monday, Oct. 12, 2026, in Half Moon Bay, Calif. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

Jesus Cruzaley, 10, midde right, celebrates with his grandfather, Harold Stern, after his pumpkin was weighed at the Safeway World Championship Pumpkin Weigh-Off, Monday, Oct. 12, 2026, in Half Moon Bay, Calif. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

People prepare a pumpkin for the Safeway World Championship Pumpkin Weigh-Off, Monday, Oct. 12, 2026, in Half Moon Bay, Calif. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

FILE - Brandon Dawson, left, celebrates after winning the Safeway 52nd annual World Championship Pumpkin Weigh-Off in Half Moon Bay, Calif., Oct. 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez, File)

Miles, 6, drives past a large pumpkin that will entered in the Safeway World Championship Pumpkin Weigh-Off, Monday, Oct. 12, 2026, in Half Moon Bay, Calif. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)