The Washington Commanders view their special teams unit as their "flagship" because of how much time they spend working on the craft, so head coach Dan Quinn said it was a "gut punch" for it to struggle as much as it did against the New England Patriots.

The good news, Quinn said, is that they know how to fix it, and they got to work on that at the start of Sunday's practice.

Special teams are always a key part of Washington's practice schedule, but Sunday was noticeably different. With the exception of the offensive line, defensive line and quarterbacks, all the skill players participated in drills, even players like tight end Zach Ertz who don't have a role on the unit. There was no contact, as the players were only wearing shorts and helmets, but coaches were pushing for more energy and intensity.

Clearly, it's one of the issues Washington wants to get fixed as soon as possible.

"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:

-- Jayden Daniels' connection with Deebo Samuel has grown by the day. He targeted Samuel on his first two passes during seven-on-seven drills, both resulting in touchdowns. Here's what Daniels had to say about Samuel after practice:

"He looks good. He makes plays, contested catches, he's been making them all the camp. I'm excited to see as we continue to grow this thing, I'm excited to see what we do in the game setting."

-- It's always nice to see the skill players show a willingness to block. Both Austin Ekeler and Jaylin Lane cleared the way for Samuel on a play, resulting in an explosive gain downfield.

-- Marshon Lattimore is starting to look like the version of himself Washington hoped it would get when the team traded for him. He cut under a pass intended for Lane in the middle of the field to record a pass breakup.

-- Quinn was asked about bringing in competition at kicker today since Matt Gay missed one of his two field goal attempts. Here's what Quinn had to say:

"Totally fair question. It's not where we're at, but we've got a lot of faith and belief in Matt and there's a lot for us to get better at. And at that position it's technical and you gotta make sure the issues are really strong and really capable to go and I'm certain he'll do that."

-- Quinn also said he is starting to see "real confidence" for Lane as a punt returner.

"When you're talking about a returner, oftentimes it's quiet feet, the way that you're approaching the ball. With [P] Tress [Way], it's a difficult punt. He can angle, it's lefty, lefties are just weird and it's good but I've seen him really respond and we try to put him into the stress to do it. But he's off to a really good start and as a receiver as well."

-- Daniels has developed a strong relationship with center Tyler Biadasz. He won't give away everything about how they work together on the field, but he did provide a glimpse of how deep their conversations can be.

"We have more of a thorough conversation even throughout the play where it's like he asked me what I want to do and I asked him how he sees stuff and we're kind of guiding each other off of different things. Just that growth from year one to year two, hopefully we're going to continue to build on that."

-- Finally, practice ended on a good note for the defense. Trey Amos, who has continued to improve throughout training camp, batted away a pass from Luke McCaffrey in the end zone. Amos will face a tougher challenge against the Cincinnati Bengals with Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins, but so far, the rookie has risen to the challenge.