The 2021 season didn’t start well for Washington Football Team safety Landon Collins. Collins, returning from an injured Achilles, struggled through the first few weeks of the 2021 season, leading head coach Ron Rivera to approach Collins about playing more linebacker.
Over the past three games, Collins has primarily played linebacker, and Washington’s defense has gradually improved each week.
Collins had his best performance in a Week 8 loss to the Denver Broncos. While he recorded eight tackles, including two for loss and a sack, the stat sheet didn’t tell the entire story of Collins’ performance. He was aggressive flying to the football, not worrying about coverage responsibilities and looked like he belonged at linebacker.
One such play from last Sunday led to Collins receiving an award from the NFL.
Collins saw Denver quarterback Teddy Bridgewater find running back Melvin Gordon on a screen, and immediately ran to the left side of the field and brought down Gordon. It was a textbook play.
So, this week, the NFL announced Collins was the latest recipient of the “Way to Play” award, given weekly to an NFL player, recognizing a good play each week. “Knees bent, pads down, heads up,” is how NFL executive vice president of football operations Troy Vincent described the award.
Congratulations to Landon Collins.