The Washington Commanders might get over their latest defeat in the next week or so, but it seems the wounds are even deeper. Besides Jayden Daniels’ unexpected third-quarter exit, their tight end, Zach Ertz, also suffered a serious injury. While the collision between Ertz and Jay Ward sparked discussions, the Vikings’ head coach, Kevin O’Connell, couldn’t back down from offering a clarification on the matter.

“Just thinking about the rules that these defensive players have to play with,” O’Connell said, as per VikingzFanPage.”I know for a fact there was no bad intent behind that play.”

As the coach broke the silence on the matter, it was clear that Ward did not intend to hurt Ertz. The Sunday night football game between the Washington Commanders and the Minnesota Vikings saw Ertz jump to catch a pass from backup quarterback Marcus Mariota late in the third quarter. As the ball came his way on second-and-11, Ertz leaped but unfortunately missed the catch.

While his right knee was extended, Vikings safety Jay Ward delivered a forceful low hit. The impact caused Ertz’s leg to buckle, forcing him to collapse on the turf. The 35-year-old was visibly distressed as he couldn’t put weight on the leg and was helped off, then carted to the locker room.

Following the hit, the team staff and coaches have expressed serious concern. The initial diagnosis suggested a torn ACL in his right knee. His head coach, Dan Quinn, called the early signs “not good.” While an MRI scheduled for the next day is expected to confirm the full extent of the damage, multiple reports have suggested the injury could mark the end of his ongoing season, which at the age of 35 could very well turn into a career-ending injury.

Kevin O’Connell focuses on details while defending Jay Ward

O’Connell didn’t just walk away with a simple remark on Zach Ertz’s injury. Elaborating on his defense of Ward, the Vikings’ head coach detailed why the post-game video showed the hit was not malicious. According to him, nothing about the post-game video shows that Ward had bad intent during the accident.

“The unique thing about that is it wasn’t like Zach’s foot was planted on the ground, where you see some of those injuries. He left the ground to make a play and was still in the air when that collision happened,” O’Connell said. “Unless we start shrinking the strike zone to go along with the top side and start talking about ‘from the ground up‘ and giving these guys a very, very tiny window to try to make a play.”

Following the injuries, the Commanders are now in a very tricky situation. While their HC, Dan Quinn, hasn’t shared a backup strategy for the games ahead yet, it still remains to be seen how the team plans to move ahead. Currently standing with 3 wins and 10 losses, their playoff push is all but over. The only silver lining for the team is their next game, which is against the struggling Giants.

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