Washington Commanders head coach Dan Quinn addressed the media on Monday following the team's 16-13 overtime loss to the Miami Dolphins. Here are some of his final thoughts before the team leaves before its bye week.

-- Here's the big news of the day: the Commanders have released kicker Matt Gay after he missed two field goals against the Dolphins, one of which could have been the game-winner. Quinn and general manager Adam Peters met with Gay earlier in the day and kept it simple: they're doing what they think is best for the team.

"Matt has been a fantastic teammate here and like an all-time good dude. So yeah, really bummed that it didn't work out. But, yeah, we just felt, 'hey, this is the change that we needed'. And I just kind of make all decisions, 'Hey, this is what we think at this time is the best decisions for the team'. When they're hard like this one because of who the person is. It makes it especially difficult, but you still have to make decisions you think are best for the whole team."

-- It was Quinn's first game as the defensive play caller, and he was pleased overall with the unit's performance. That doesn't necessarily mean that he believes he was the reason for the change; rather, it was more about the energy the players brought, particularly on the fourth-down stops at the goal line.

"Those are big. We kind of talked in this game, we needed takeaways and fourth downs we're going to be a part of that. The third down I thought we improved on in some spaces, but having a few that were longer that certainly felt good too. That not all living in the lower spot. We got plenty of stuff to get better at, number of disguises, creating takeaways, those things. But I liked the energy and the speed."

-- The second biggest subject of the press conference involved Jayden Daniels, who is still nursing an elbow injury he suffered against the Seattle Seahawks. Quinn said Daniels is making good progress with his rehab, but the head coach couldn't provide any other updates. However, he did say that he'll have a better idea of the recovery process for Daniels, Terry McLaurin, Noah Brown and other injured players.

-- As mentioned previously, the Commanders are about to go on their bye week and get some rest before finishing the final six games of the season. Quinn said the team is "a little depleted" and wants the players to get as replenished as possible.

"I felt a good energy about our team yesterday, in having a lead for the first time and what felt like maybe forever brought some of that. But I wanted them to know this is all there for us to go do, capable plays, complimentary football, and we're going to work really hard at it and there's going be a lot that we can battle through together."

-- Quinn was also asked about how the Commanders will balance trying to win while also making sure their younger players get plenty of reps. The goal, he said, is to do both.

"And it takes a fine line I think, but one that you can do. It takes some thoughtfulness, but it may not be every single game at every single position, but moments where you get guys to evaluate and see what they can do, that helps for sure."