By the Numbers: Slow start, tough breaks doom Washington Football Team

Bright spots

6.1: Boy, was it nice to see Antonio Gibson back on the field. He had 10 rushes for 61 yards to lead all rushers, finishing with a healthy 6.1 yards per carry. He would have had more if it hadn’t been for Washington falling into an early 20-point deficit.

Gibson showed burst and didn’t seem to show any ill effects from his turf toe injury, which is a good sign for Washington. Gibson only had one rushing attempt in the second half as Washington was playing catch-up and became very one-dimensional in its play-calling.

102.3: With 9:08 remaining in the game and Washington down 20-6, the team finally pulled Haskins and put in Taylor Heinicke. The more Heinicke played, the more it looked like Ron Rivera should have gone to the back-up earlier. He finished with a 102.3 passer rating, going 12-for-19 for 137 yards and one touchdown. He had an opportunity for more on a beautifully placed deep ball that was dropped by Cam Sims.

In a little over nine minutes, Heinicke was almost able to match Haskins’ completions and passing yards for over three+ quarters.

8-77-1: J.D. McKissic continued to make his presence felt as a receiving threat out of the backfield with 8 receptions for 77 yards and Washington’s only touchdown of the day on a dime from Taylor Heinicke. McKissic is second in the league among RBs in receptions, behind only Alvin Kamara. His 75 receptions so far this season surpasses his career total of 70 receptions before joining Washington.

2: Chase Young played a phenomenal game, after being selected as one of the team captains before the game. He had 4 tackles, 1 sack, 1 TFL, 1 pass defended, 1 forced fumble, and a recovered fumble.

The two represents the two major plays he made when Carolina was driving that prevented the Panthers from adding to their lead. The first play was before the end of the first half when Young hit Teddy Bridgewater’s arm as he threw the ball, leading to a Kam Curl interception. The second was when he sacked Bridgewater on Carolina’s first drive of the second half, forcing and recovering a fumble, resulting in a field goal for Washington.

78: Washington’s defense did its part to give the team a chance in the second half. The defense held the Panthers to 78 total yards in the second half resulting in 0 points. Carolina came in averaging 248.3 passing yards per game but were held to 167 passing yards. After allowing Carolina to rush for 91 yards on 17 carries in the first half, Washington held the Panthers to 22 yards rushing on 18 carries in the second half.