"We take great pride in that," Quinn said. "And so, to see that not go down, first thing man, acknowledge it, put it up, show it, show both of them, where the errors were."
Quinn said the Commanders played "sloppy" during their 48-18 loss to the Patriots, and that was particularly true of the special teams unit. They allowed 187 yards on three kickoff returns, including a 100-yard touchdown on the first touch of the game. The return unit also struggled, as the combination of Kazmeir Allen, Demetric Felton and Noah Igbinoghene averaged 22.7 yards on nine returns.
Part of the frustration came from how poorly the special teams unit operated. Two of their 13 penalties came from the group, while Felton muffed a kick. The offense had its own issues, but they weren't helped by their return units, either.
Quinn made it clear that was unacceptable, both after the game and before Sunday's practice.
"It's important to say when it's right, but it's important to show this isn't to the standard, this is how we've gotta do it and I'm certain we'll get that fixed."
As surprising as it was, both for the team and fans, to see Washington's special teams unit struggle, there is reason to believe the team will bounce back from the performance. For one, most of the starters did not dress out for the team. The group is also led by special teams coordinator Larry Izzo, a longtime core special teams player for the Patriots, who helped the team rank third in punt return yards allowed and kickoff return yards as well as ninth in return average.
Quinn said Izzo is "right in the front of all that," so the team is confident in his ability to remedy those issues.
Here are some more observations from practice: