Category: Latest Washington News

Washington vs. Carolina: 5 keys to clinching a playoff berth in D.C. on Sunday

A win on Sunday gives Washington a chance to clinch their first playoff berth since 2015, but they need some things to break the right way.

In an odd turn of events this year, we’ve used the phrase ‘must-win game’ and talked about some high stakes a lot when it comes to the Washington Football Team. After a disastrous 2-7 start to the season was quickly turned around by a four-game winning streak and aided by a dismal NFC East division, we are now in the position where Ron Rivera has his team on the brink of a playoff spot, which would be the franchise’s first since 2015.

It all comes down to this Sunday against the Carolina Panthers, though. If Washington can find a way to win, coupled with a New York Giants loss to the Baltimore Ravens earlier in the day, there will be something to celebrate in D.C. on Sunday night. Easier said than done, though, especially when you consider the injuries and distractions that have plagued the past two weeks in the Washington football world.

A win is still very possible nonetheless, but Washington is going to need to be on top of their game and hope that a few things can break the right way for them on Sunday. Here are our five biggest keys to the game:

Injury Report: Terry McLaurin misses second-straight day; Alex Smith returns to limited work

There is some real concern when it comes to both Terry McLaurin and Alex Smith’s availability this week, but Antonio Gibson is seemingly headed in the right direction.

For the second-straight day, Washington’s star wide receiver Terry McLaurin was nowhere to be found on the practice field, which has now caused the fanbase to reach a level of concern that could come pressing for his availability on Sunday. McLaurin has been dealing with an ankle injury for a lot of the 2020 season, and his lack of production over the past few weeks could potentially be chalked up to that. We will see if McLaurin returns to the field on Friday or Saturday, but at this point, it is fair to question his availability for Sunday.

Elsewhere on the field, QB Alex Smith ramped up his workload a bit on Thursday, throwing to receivers in individual drills and putting more exertion on his calf-strain than we’ve seen in over a week. Despite this, QB Dwayne Haskins was still taking first-team reps, and at the moment it appears that he is likely to be the starter on Sunday, though we will keep an eye on Smith’s recovery.

There was also some positive news when it comes to a few other injured players on the roster, especially RB Antonio Gibson and LB Cole Holcomb. Gibson has missed the past two games with a turf toe injury, but he’s gone through individual work this week and could likely see the field on Sunday if all stays on the right course. As far as Holcomb goes, he was held out last week with a concussion but also went through individual drills on Thursday.

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Report: Alex Smith receives increased work in practice; Dwayne Haskins still taking first-team reps

Alex Smith is reportedly getting more work at practice in Washington, but at the moment, Dwayne Haskins is still taking first-team reps.

All eyes are on the practice that is taking place with the Washington Football Team on Thursday afternoon, but unfortunately, none of the media’s eyes are on the actual practice, with poor weather moving the drills inside where media members are not allowed.

According to a report from the Washington PR staff, QB Alex Smith is seeing his work in practice be ramped up a bit on Thursday with him throwing to the side, which is more than we saw from the injured veteran on Wednesday. Despite this, it is still QB Dwayne Haskins who is taking first-team reps with the team, and according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, there is a sense that Haskins will be the guy for Washington on Sunday.

Smith said to the media on Wednesday that he ‘absolutely plans’ to be out there and play against the Panthers, so we will see how his participation and activity increases over the next couple of days leading up to the game. Ron Rivera said last week that he would feel comfortable starting Smith even if the QB had gone without any reps in practice that week, so we can assume that there is still a chance that No. 11 could play, even if he is unable to give it a full go at all this week.

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Panthers’ RB Christian McCaffrey doubtful to play vs. Washington on Sunday

The Panthers are likely going to be without RB Christian McCaffrey on Sunday, which makes game-planning for coach Rivera’s former team much easier.

It appears that the Washington Football Team is catching a bit of a break when it comes to their matchup against the Carolina Panthers on Sunday, with All-Pro running back Christian McCaffrey now considered doubtful to play.

McCaffrey has been injured for most of the season, only playing in three games this year, and it doesn’t look like he is going to be healthy enough to suit up on Sunday in Week 16 either. At this point, it would be more surprising to see McCaffrey play at all this season, with the Panthers out of the playoff race with only two games left to play.

Due to the name alone, it is easy to say this is a big break for Washington’s defense, but looking at the numbers in the past, McCaffrey has been relatively held in check when playing the burgundy and gold in his career. In two career games against Washington, McCaffrey has only 22 rushes for 64 yards, plus 14 catches for 104 yards, with zero touchdowns to show for it. With as good as Washington’s defense is this year, it’s easy to believe that they would have been able to find some success against him in 2020 as well, but if you can avoid game-planning for the elusive RB altogether, that makes things a lot easier.

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Alex Smith ‘absolutely plans’ on playing vs. Carolina Panthers on Sunday

Alex Smith has missed the last 6 quarters of football due to a calf injury, but he said on Wednesday that he plans to play vs. the Panthers.

Washington quarterback Alex Smith was unable to play in last week’s game against the Seattle Seahawks, and the team promptly lost, bringing an end to their 4-game winning streak.

Dwayne Haskins, who played in relief of Smith, was decent but not great, and the offense was at times lacking. Considering this, as well as everything else that has been going on in the world of Haskins this week, every Washington fan is likely wishing as hard as they can that Smith’s calf muscle is healed enough to play once again this week against the Carolina Panthers in a game that could potentially land the team in the playoffs, should they win, and the NY Giants lose.

Luckily, it seems that Smith has some real confidence that he’ll be able to give things a go on Sunday.

The most important day for an injured player is always the day after they give it a go in practice, mainly to see how the body reacts to exertion. If Smith is feeling up to it and can show that he’s good to go later this week, Washington should feel pretty confident going into this weekend.

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Dwayne Haskins’ potential punishment could result in ‘maximum fine’ or 4-game suspension

We’re yet to know the punishment that Dwayne Haskins will receive for his gaffe, but it could potentially result in a 4-game suspension.

We don’t yet know what the ramifications of Washington quarterback Dwayne Haskins’ immature actions on Sunday night will be, but there’s a potential that the hammer could be dropped. Hard.

After losing his first start in over 10 weeks to the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday, Haskins celebrated by going to dinner with some friends, followed by a trip to the strip club, where pictures show he was not wearing a mask to protect against the COVID-19 virus. After pictures of the events were spread across social media on Monday, Haskins publically apologized for the mistake on Tuesday, and it was reported that the team was aware of the situation and planned to deal with the matter in-house. That doesn’t mean that the second-year QB won’t be punished, but it means that the team will be the ones doling out the punishment.

According to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, that punishment could be pretty severe.

A game check could be coming out of Haskins’ pocket, and it wouldn’t be a shock to see him be handed some sort of suspension as well. One point that was made on Twitter after the fact seems incredibly pertinent as well.

Washington needs to make a strong example that this behavior is not to be tolerated. We will see if he is suspended, and for how long, and then we can assume that Haskins will be serving the tail end of that suspension outside of Washington, because there is seemingly no chance of him being on the Washington roster come 2021.

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Report: Washington is aware of social media post involving Dwayne Haskins; will handle internally

A social media post earlier this week showed Dwayne Haskins at what looked to be a gentleman’s club without wearing a mask following Sunday’s game.

Following the Washington Football Team’s loss to the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday afternoon, a social media post came out that appeared to depict Washington quarterback Dwayne Haskins, showing him at what looked like a club on Sunday night with people around him, none of whom were wearing masks.

According to The Washington Post‘s Nicki Jhabvala, the team is aware of the situation, and they are choosing to handle it internally. If Haskins was in fact out at a club the night of the game, it would have violated the NFL’s COVID-19 protocols, and potentially put the rest of the team at risk.

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Report: Washington settled sexual misconduct claim for $1.6 million against Dan Snyder in 2009

A new report from the Washington Post shows that Dan Snyder and his team settled a $1.6 million sexual misconduct claim in 2009.

While a legal battle over the ownership of the Washington Football Team takes place in the courts, and the team is a win away from sealing their first playoff appearance since 2015 on the field, more troublesome allegations are coming to light for team owner Daniel Snyder, as two new reports of sexual misconduct have been reported.

According to a new report from The Washington Post, the Washington Football Team paid a female former employee $1.6 million as part of a confidential settlement in 2009 after the woman accused Snyder of sexual misconduct.

The misconduct was said to have taken place on Snyder’s private plane on a flight returning from the Academy of Country Music Awards in Las Vegas, the report said, and the accuser reportedly was not authorized to discuss the matter and spoke on the condition of anonymity.

According to the Post, Snyder and his team chose to settle the misconduct case for fear of further legal action, but “in the agreement, neither Snyder nor the team acknowledged any wrongdoing.”

Though the woman had been terminated for cause, she and the team agreed that her personnel file would be changed to show that she voluntarily resigned. The team also provided the woman with a letter of recommendation, signed by Mitch Gershman, then the team’s chief operating officer, which described her as “well-respected by her colleagues here at The Washington Redskins and around the NFL” and said she “will be an asset to another organization.”

This news comes after another article dropped over the weekend that detailed Snyder’s legal battle over the ownership of the team, where he is fighting three men who own a combined 40% of the team – Robert Rothman, Dwight Schar, and Fred Smith.

In a release of documents that were uncovered in that report, a text message from Baltimore banker John Moag during the sales process read in part:

“If you continue your game, you know what I know and what I have never spoken about. And you know it has nothing to do about the media s*** … it’s the more serious s***.

“If you want to get to a clean conclusion, let me know. If you want a s*** show, we are on for that too.”

While Washington is finally starting to find some success on the field with Ron Rivera as their new coach, it appears that stuff is starting to hit the fan in the front office, and Snyder continues to be in the middle of it all.

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NFL flexes Washington’s game vs. Carolina Panthers to 4:05 ET on Sunday

With a chance to potentially wrap up the NFC East division title, Washington’s game on Sunday has been flexed to the afternoon slate.

Washington’s game against the Carolina Panthers could potentially have some major ramifications for the NFC East and subsequent playoff picture, and it is now being flexed into the afternoon window, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.

If Washington is to win that game against the Panthers, and the New York Giants lose their game to the Baltimore Ravens, then Ron Rivera and his squad will clinch the NFC East division title and cement their first trip to the postseason since 2015.

The Giants and the Ravens are set to kick off a 1:00 PM ET on Sunday, so Washington will know the outcome of that game by the time theirs starts on Sunday afternoon.

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Terry McLaurin, Montez Sweat, Tress Way headline 2021 Pro Bowl snubs in Washington

Both Terry McLaurin and Montez Sweat had a great shot of making the 2021 Pro Bowl, but the two Washington players were snubbed on Monday night.

While both DE Chase Young and RG Brandon Scherff were named to the 2021 NFL Pro Bowl from the Washington Football Team, there has to be a feeling among fans that a few players on the roster were snubbed as well.

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Among the people who deserved to get in, yet didn’t, were DE Montez Sweat, WR Terry McLaurin, P Tress Way, DT Jonathan Allen, and DT Daron Payne. All four players have had standout seasons, and are among the best at their position in the NFL.

Here are the players on the NFC Roster that got in ahead of those Washington players:

Wide Receiver:

  • Davante Adams (Packers)
  • DeAndre Hopkins (Cardinals)
  • DK Metcalf (Seahawks)
  • Justin Jefferson (Vikings)

Defensive End:

  • Cameron Jordan (Saints)
  • Brandon Graham (Eagles)
  • Chase Young (Washington)

Defensive Tackle

  • Aaron Donald (Rams)
  • Fletcher Cox (Eagles)
  • Grady Jarrett (Falcons)

Punter:

  • Jack Fox (Lions)

Both Scherff and Young are extremely deserving of the nomination, with Scherff making it to his fourth Pro Bowl team, and Young being named to his first in his rookie season. As more success comes to Washington down the road, we can expect more players to get the credit that they deserve.

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