Quan Martin’s afternoon all but ended with about seven minutes left in the second quarter. Dallas Cowboys receiver KaVontae Turpin blew by him in coverage and took a deep pass 86 yards up the middle for a touchdown.

So, for the remainder of the Washington Commanders’ loss last weekend, Martin was relegated to special teams and only a handful of late-down plays. His 27 defensive snaps (30 percent of Washington’s total) were his fewest in a game in more than two years, dating back to when he was a rookie reserve.

“There had been a big mistake in the game regarding coverage, and so there were consequences to that,” Commanders coach Dan Quinn said Monday. “… I’d like to also say I love Quan and I believe in him, and that’s not so unusual when a difficult play happens that you change and they have to come stand on the sideline for a moment.”

Martin wasn’t the only player to err on that play (linebacker Frankie Luvu jumped offsides), let alone in that game. And he’s hardly the first one to end up on the sideline after a mistake.

But his season has become a microcosm of one of Washington’s more perplexing issues: Multiple players who ended the 2024 season on the rise and as seemingly core pieces of the team’s future have taken steps back in 2025.

Martin has given up 453 receiving yards when targeted in coverage this season, the fourth-most among qualified safeties and almost twice as many as he gave up last year (253) in roughly the same number of coverage snaps, according to Pro Football Focus.

Luvu’s three forced fumbles this season are tied for the third-most among qualified linebackers, per PFF, and his role changed during the season to help Washington’s depleted pass rush. But his missed tackle rate of 20.2 percent leads all qualifying linebackers, and the NFL has fined him nearly $170,000 for illegal hip-drop tackles.

And second-year cornerback Mike Sainristil leads the Commanders with four interceptions, but he’s also allowed 10 touchdowns in coverage, the most of any cornerback in the NFL.

Unlike last year, when Washington had a new front office, new coaching staff and a mostly new roster, this year’s Week 1 roster was composed primarily of returning players — roughly 65 percent of the players already had a year in the system. The roster was also among the league’s oldest and most experienced.

Yet, the basics of tackling, coverage assignments and communication have often eluded them, so much so that defensive coordinator Joe Whitt and Quinn simplified the defensive call sheets with the hope it would reduce the mistakes.

“Yeah, the mental ones (are) more vexing for sure,” Quinn said when asked about the team’s mental vs. physical mistakes. “… The ones where you allow a free runner on a blitz, or a conversion where you didn’t match the right way — those are the ones that are particularly costly for us. So that’s what I wanted to work on and I’ll continue to shrink (the call sheets) until I find that right balance to say, ‘Hey, this is the most important thing that we need to do in this game to go win it.’”

There are multiple team-wide circumstances, notably injuries, that could have contributed to individual declines. But Quinn has said part of the challenge for younger players like Sainristil and Martin, and even veterans like Luvu, is finding the self-restraint to not try to make every play, which can ultimately lead to costly mistakes. They’ve proved they can make game-changing plays, but knowing when to take their shot can save games.

“The attitude, the mindset, that’s good,” Quinn said in November, “but not at the expense of veering off course to do something that could have other consequences.”

Quan Martin, in coverage of Cowboys tight end Jake Ferguson, barely played in the second half of Washington’s loss. (Amber Searls / Imagn Images)

Washington’s swing from a 4-13 team in 2023 to a 12-5 contender in ‘24 and back to being a 4-12 club this season is among the more volatile three-year stretches for any NFL team in recent years. The last team to improve by eight wins in one season, then fall by at least eight losses the following season was the Carolina Panthers, from 2014-16.

Such a slide isn’t caused by a single player or even a few players. There are multiple layers that Quinn and general manager Adam Peters will have to peel back. For a regime that began its rebuild/recalibration (just pick an “r” word) by preaching play style, rediscovering the fundamentals of it is step one.

“Even what you can emphasize at practice through the offseason program and especially during the training camp time,” Quinn said. “So, I wanted to go back and look to see where can we add? Where do we emphasize different things during different parts? I do feel like that’s something that needs to be consistently reinforced over and over and over again. If that part of our play style is right, then I think a lot of other things can go.”

Quinn is hoping the Commanders can begin to make headway on Sunday, when they play the Eagles in Philadelphia for their season finale. Washington has seen countless times how mistakes will cost them against Philly; their Week 16 loss was the latest reminder, as Saquon Barkley forced missed tackles and totaled 132 rushing yards and a rushing touchdown.

Some notable Washington veterans — quarterback Marcus Mariota (quad, hand) and center Tyler Biadasz (ankle, knee) — are considered “a stretch” to play, but Quinn said he has not considered sitting healthy starters. The directive for those who are available: Get back to the basics.

“The fundamental piece, man, that’s not changing for me,” Quinn said. “We have to get that part right.”