Washington Football Team: Three takeaways from loss vs. Panthers

The Washington Football Team lost to the Panthers in one of their worst defeats of the year.

The Washington Football Team had a chance to win the NFC East on Sunday afternoon. The New York Giants had lost, so just earning a win over the Carolina Panthers would move them to 7-8 and clinch what had seemed like an improbable division title.

There was plenty of motivation for Washington. Not only did they have a chance to win the division title and make the playoffs for the first time since 2015, they also had a chance to earn a victory against Ron Rivera’s former team and give the coach chance some vengeance and validation.

Instead, Washington put forth one of their worst efforts of the season and dropped to 6-9 on the year.

Washington lost to the Panthers 20-13, but the score was a lot better than the play indicated. At one point, Washington trailed 20-0 and they once again were unable to get anything going on offense under Dwayne Haskins. The team has a lot of problems, and they’re going to have to fix them in the offseason to stay competitive.

Washington still has a chance to win the NFC East, but they have clinched a losing record this season and after this loss against the Panthers, there is little confidence that the team will be able to win if they make the postseason. It’s not like the confidence of competing in the playoffs was that high, to begin with, but the recent trends on the defensive side of the ball had previously given fans some hope.

Sunday’s loss was crushing, and it revealed some of the cracks in Washington’s current team. Here’s a look at three key takeaways from the game, starting with the performance of the defense.