Tag: DeAndre Carter

Washington’s offense did something it hadn’t done in 5 years on Sunday

Washington’s offense did something it hadn’t done since Sept. 2016 on Sunday.

[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqbykgy681k112p8 player_id=none image=https://washingtonfootballwire.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

It’s been a long time since the WFT scored on their first four possessions in an NFL regular-season game.

Even more, the Washington offense has been struggling so much in the red zone in recent games that there were even fans and commentators asking if Taylor Heinicke might be benched in favor of Kyle Allen this week. But Heinicke was impressive Sunday, as the men in Burgundy and Gold generated enough offense to score on their first four possessions in their week 10 game of this 2021 season.

Driving 32 yards in eight plays, new kicker Joey Slye was successful on his 46-yard field goal attempt.

Following a William Jackson III interception, Washington managed one first down, driving 18 yards for Slye’s second field goal, this one from 28 yards and a 6-0 lead. Incidentally, it was Washington’s first six-point lead of the 2021 season.

Heinicke concluded Washington’s third possession with a beautiful 20-yard touchdown pass to DeAndre Carter closing a ten-play 46-yard drive and Washington fans were in disbelief as Washington now owned their first 13-point lead of the season.

With 58 seconds remaining in the first half, Slye split the uprights from 29 yards, as Washington had traveled 64 yards in 11 plays to score on their fourth consecutive offensive possession. Heinicke enjoyed a first half where he completed 13 of 16 passing attempts for 129 yards.

Sunday was the first time Washington had scored on their opening four possessions since September 25, 2016, in a 29-27 road win over the New York Giants.

Dustin Hopkins kicked field goals from 49, 33 and 45 yards, and quarterback Kirk Cousins then connected with wide receiver DeSean Jackson on a 44-yard touchdown pass with 3:40 remaining in the first half to narrow the Giants’ lead to 21-16.

Cousins would find receiver Jamison Crowder on a 55-yard touchdown and Hopkins would later add field goals from 25 and 37 yards in the Washington come-from-behind victory over their division rival.

Studs and Duds from Washington’s 29-19 win vs. Buccaneers

There are no duds this week. This was a TEAM win for Washington.

The Washington Football Team played their most impressive game of the season on Sunday, coming away with a 29-19 win over the defending Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

It was a complete performance from all three of Washington’s units. It took a nearly perfect game from Washington to defeat the Bucs — and that’s precisely what happened.

Unfortunately for Washington, it was hit by injuries in the loss. Defensive end Chase Young left in the second quarter with a knee injury. The initial fear is that it’s a season-ending ACL injury. Tight end Ricky Seals-Jones was also lost for the game with an injury.

Despite those injuries, Washington still managed to take down Tom Brady and the Buccaneers. It is difficult to name only a few players who led Washington to a win this week, but we’ll take our best shot.

Here are the studs — no duds this week — from Washington’s Week 10 upset of the Buccaneers.

Washington vs. Buccaneers game recap: Everything we know

Everything we know from Washington’s 29-19 upset win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

https://embed.sendtonews.com/oembed/?SC=E7SvAETO1z-1615570-7498&format=json&offsetx=0&offsety=0&floatwidth=400&floatposition=bottom-right&float=on

The Washington Football Team defeated the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 29-19, on Sunday to improve to 3-6 on the season and snap a four-game losing streak.

It was an impressive performance from Washington in every phase of the game. The defense played its most complete game of the season, despite defensive end Montez Sweat missing due to injury and fellow defensive end Chase Young departing in the first half with what appears to be a severe knee injury.

The offense, led by quarterback Taylor Heinicke, running back Antonio Gibson and wide receiver Terry McLaurin, iced the win with a decisive touchdown to end the game.

Here is everything we know from Washington’s win over the Buccaneers.

Instant analysis: Washington upsets the Buccaneers to snap 4-game losing streak

Despite an injury to star defensive end Chase Young, Washington pulls off the huge upset. Washington controlled the entire game.

https://embed.sendtonews.com/oembed/?SC=M5vRnBQSih-1615535-7498&format=json&offsetx=0&offsety=0&floatwidth=400&floatposition=bottom-right&float=on

The Washington Football Team played their best game of the season in Week 10, resulting in a 29-19 upset victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Things started well for Washington as the defense forced a three-and-out on the game’s opening possession.

Washington’s offense took the field, and while it couldn’t put the ball in the end zone, new kicker Joey Slye proved his value by drilling a 46-yard field goal to give the WFT an early 3-0 lead.

The defense went back to work on the Buccaneers’ second possession, as cornerback William Jackson III intercepted a deflected Tom Brady pass, giving Washington terrific field position. The offense stalled again, leading to another Slye field goal.

Washington’s kept the pressure on Tampa Bay, as safety Bobby McCain picked off Brady. Several plays later, quarterback Taylor Heinicke found wide receiver DeAndre Carter for a 20-yard touchdown to give Washington a 13-0 lead.

Unfortunately for Washington, defensive end Chase Young went down with a knee injury on Tampa Bay’s next possession. According to Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network, the early diagnosis is a torn ACL.

The Bucs would end the half with two field goals, cutting Washington’s lead to 16-6.

The second half began ugly for Washington’s offense, leaving fans to wonder, “here we go again.” But this game was different.

Brady led the Bucs on two touchdown drives, cutting the lead to three points on two occasions, but Washington’s offense, led by Heinicke, running back Antonio Gibson and wide receiver Terry McLaurin continued to answer.

Washington put together its best drive of the season in the fourth quarter and faced a fourth-and-goal from the one-yard line with under one minute remaining. Head coach Ron Rivera could’ve chosen to kick a field goal and make it a 26-19 Washington lead. After all, the Buccaneers had no timeouts remaining.

That’s not what Riverboat Ron chose to do. Instead, he went for the win. And one play later, Gibson went over the left side and into the end zone, putting Washington ahead, 29-19, effectively ending the team’s four-game losing streak.

Heinicke completed 26 of 32 passes for 256 yards and a touchdown. Gibson played his best game of the season, rushing for 64 yards and two touchdowns. He also made two crucial catches in the passing game, including one on the final drive.

McLaurin caught six passes for 59 yards, while Carter had three receptions for 56 yards.

Washington, now 3-6,  travels to Carolina in Week 11.

WATCH: Taylor Heinicke finds DeAndre Carter for the touchdown

Taylor Heinicke finds DeAndre Carter to give Washington a 13-0 lead in the first half.

The Washington Football Team has struggled to convert good drives into points in recent weeks. In a Week 7 loss at Green Bay, Washington’s offense struggled each time it was inside the Packers’ 30-yard line.

Early in the first half of Washington’s Week 10 game against the Buccaneers, it looked like more of the same from the offense. Washington went down the field into Tampa Bay territory and settled for field goals on two possessions.

Up 6-0 and facing a third-and-6, quarterback Taylor Heinicke decided he wasn’t settling for another field goal. Heinicke dropped back and found wide receiver DeAndre Carter for a 20-yard touchdown to give Washington a 13-0 lead in the second quarter.

It was a tremendous throw by Heinicke, as Carter continues to show why he’s Washington’s second-best receiver in 2021.

 

 

Washington leads the Buccaneers, 16-6, at halftime

Washington leads the Buccaneers 16-6 at halftime.

The Washington Football Team leads the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 16-6, at halftime in Week 10 of NFL action.

Washington got off to a great start by forcing Tom Brady and the Buccaneers on a three-and-out on the game’s first possession. Washington’s offense moved down the field and settled for a 46-yard field goal from new kicker Joey Slye.

Washington cornerback William Jackson III picks off Brady on a deflected pass on the next possession. Unfortunately for Washington, it would have to settle for three points again.

Washington’s defense would make another play, as safety Bobby McCain picks off Brady again. This time, quarterback Taylor Heinicke found wide receiver DeAndre Carter for a 20-yard touchdown to give Washington a 13-0 lead.

The Buccaneers finally appeared to have something going when Washington defensive end Chase Young went down with a knee injury in the second quarter. He was ruled out for the game. Washington’s defense held the Bucs to a field goal.

Just before halftime, the Buccaneers faced a 4th-and-7, and Brady threw a short pass to wide receiver Mike Evans that should’ve ended the half. However, Jackson tackled Evans by his face mask, and Tampa Bay got one free untimed down. That led to kicker Ryan Succop kicking a field goal to make it 16-6.

That’s why Washington is a bad team. Jackson gave a very good team three points.

Heinicke has completed 13 of 16 passes for 129 yards and a touchdown in the first half. He had two drops but also had one pass deflect off a Tampa Bay defensive back’s hands into the waiting arms of Carter.

Washington will start the second half with the football.

WATCH: Taylor Heinicke drops an absolute dime to DeAndre Carter for Washington touchdown

Taylor Heinicke with a dime to DeAndre Carter for Washington’s first touchdown.

The Washington Football Team has had plenty of trouble scoring touchdowns in recent weeks, especially when the team gets deep into the opposition’s territory.

Late in the third quarter of Sunday’s game against the Denver Broncos, Washington trailed 10-3 and was again deep in Denver’s territory. On a first-and-10 at the Broncos’ 20-yard line, Washington quarterback Taylor Heinicke drops back and throws a dime to wide receiver DeAndre Carter to even the score at 10 with the Broncos.

It was one of, if not the best Heinicke throw of the season.

Now, Washington trails 17-10 late in the fourth quarter and Heinicke has another chance for late-game heroics.

 

Washington wide receiver DeAndre Carter is the NFC Special Teams Player of the Week

Washington kickoff returner DeAndre Carter is the NFC Special Teams Player of the Week.

[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqbykgy681k112p8 player_id=none image=https://washingtonfootballwire.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

Washington wide receiver DeAndre Carter won a roster in training camp for his ability to return kicks and punts. In Sunday’s Week 5 win over the Atlanta Falcons, Carter justified that roster spot with a 101-yard kickoff return for a touchdown to open the second half.

On Wednesday, Carter was named the NFC Special Teams Player of the Week for his performance last week.

In the win, Carter returned three kicks for 152 yards, averaging 50 yards per return. Due to the injuries at wide receiver, Carter also played some offense and made a critical 24-yard reception in the fourth quarter.

Carter’s story is one of perseverance. An undrafted free agent out of Sacramento State in 2015, Carter is playing for his eighth NFL organization in 2021.

Washington has been in dire need of consistency in the return game for years. Carter didn’t break a return until Sunday but has been close all season. One area where Washington likes Carter is his decisiveness as a returner. He sees a lane and goes. There is no stopping and going sideline to sideline. Carter catches the football and goes upfield.

Congratulations to Carter for this accomplishment.

 

WATCH: DeAndre Carter return the second-half kickoff for a touchdown

Too bad Dustin Hopkins missed the extra point — again.

The Washington Football Team went into halftime down 17-13 after the Atlanta Falcons scored a touchdown late in the first half to take back the lead.

Washington received the second half’s opening kickoff, and wide receiver/kick returner DeAndre Carter brought the ball out of the end zone and returned it 101 yards to give Washington back the lead.

Unfortunately for Washington, kicker Dustin Hopkins missed the extra point for the second time in Sunday’s Week 4 game.

Washington trails by one score in the fourth quarter with numerous injuries piling up on offense. And, yes, you guessed it, another bad day for the defense.

Washington will have some tough decisions to make at wide receiver

The competition at wide receiver has been outstanding in training camp so far. Washington will be forced to make some tough choices over the next month.

[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqbykgy681k112p8 player_id=none image=https://washingtonfootballwire.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

One year ago, you could argue that wide receiver was the weakest position on the Washington Football Team. Second-year pro Terry McLaurin was special — but there was little else.

Boy, how things change.

Washington signed Curtis Samuel in free agency to serve as the team’s No. 2 wideout. Samuel was coming off a career year and can line up all over the place on offense. The WFT also added reliable but injury-prone veteran Adam Humphries.

Then, in the NFL draft, Washington was fortunate when North Carolina wide receiver Dyami Brown fell to the third round. Suddenly, the Football Team had some depth at wide receiver.

Washington would also return some promising younger players such as Cam Sims, Steven Sims Jr., Kelvin Harmon, Isaiah Wright and Antonio Gandy-Golden. There was also seventh-round pick Dax Milne.

One week into training camp, it’s clear which players are making the 53-man roster. McLaurin, Samuel, Brown, Cam Sims and Humphries all feel like locks to make the roster. Humphries could be a surprise cut, but he has a nice rapport with quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick.

The biggest question is, how many receivers will head coach Ron Rivera keep?

Most NFL teams keep five or six receivers on the roster. That number could vary depending on which players contribute on special teams.

Washington needs a punt returner. Of those players in camp, Sims Jr., DeAndre Carter, Wright, Milne and Humphries could all get looks at punt returner. Sims has done it before but hasn’t been overly successful.

Carter is the player to watch. The 28-year-old is on his eighth NFL team and can return punts. He’s also had a strong camp as a receiver. That versatility could help him land on Washington’s 53-man roster.

Sims Jr. entered camp squarely on the roster bubble after struggling at times last season. He has looked good this summer.

Sims Jr. has talent. He looked like a future keeper in 2019.

Next is Gandy-Golden. A fourth-round pick last season, Gandy-Golden failed to make an impression before his injury last season. The 6-foot-4 Gandy-Golden is impressive and is another receiver standing out this summer.

A player who is quietly off the radar is Harmon. As a rookie in 2019, Harmon caught 30 passes and looked to be a part of the future as a reliable possession receiver. The previous coaching staff really liked him. Unfortunately for Harmon, he was injured before training camp began last summer and was lost for the season.

He’s back — and catching everything.

Wright caught 27 passes as a rookie undrafted free agent in 2021. He can also return punts.

Milne, the rookie from BYU, has also impressed coaches in camp. He seems like a longshot, more like someone who could begin his career on the practice squad.

What has helped these receivers so far in camp is the absence of Samuel. Nursing a groin injury and also on the reserve/COVID-19 list, Samuel has yet to practice. It has opened the door for others, and they have taken advantage.

Regardless of what happens between now and the end of the month, Washington has some tough decisions to make at wide receiver. The team is going to cut multiple good players who will latch on somewhere else. It’s likely the preseason could make or break some of these young receivers.

Being in a position to cut good players is a problem Washington is glad to have.