Washington Football Team: Top 10 plays of the 2020 season

7. Terry McLaurin’s miraculous tackle vs. Cowboys

Thanksgiving Day was not historically kind to Washington, especially when the opponent was Dallas. WFT had only won a single previous Turkey Day matchup against the Cowboys. This game had been hard-fought throughout.

Midway through the third quarter, with Washington up 20-13, Alex Smith dropped back to pass. Aldon Smith crashed into him just as he was releasing the pass for Terry McLaurin, and the resulting throw was very short, fluttering right into the hands of underneath linebacker Jaylon Smith.

Smith snagged it right around midfield and raced down the right sideline toward a likely tied ball game. McLaurin was six yards behind Smith when he began his chase. Smith, who ran a 4.45 40 before his knee injury, still claims to have 4.5 speed. Still, Terry would have caught him easily had not Leighton Vander Esch gotten in his way.

By the time McLaurin had evaded Vander Esch, it seemed as if Smith was already in the end zone. But Terry flashed his lightning speed and tackled Smith from behind at the 4-yard line. The Cowboys celebrated in the end zone, expecting the tying touchdown to come soon thereafter.

Here’s a look at the entire play, via the NFL’s YouTube channel.

It never did. McLaurin’s all-out hustle play set up Washington’s defense to make a red zone stand, forcing a field goal. Instead of 20-20, it would be 20-16. Those were the last points Dallas would score. Washington would go on to win 41-16 and Terry McLaurin would again prove why he was awarded the captaincy in just his second year as a professional.

8. Logan Thomas’ nose for the ball vs. Steelers

There was no way the Washington Football Team was going into Pittsburgh and defeating the unbeaten Steelers. When the Giants upset the Seattle Seahawks the day before, it looked like Washington’s time at the top of the NFC East was about to come to an end.

That’s when tight end Logan Thomas had his coming-out party. Thomas had already established himself as one of Washington’s few reliable weapons on offense but against Pittsburgh, he was magnificent. From his remarkable one-handed snag of a low throw early on to multiple tough, contested catches, and finally culminating in a touchdown to tie the game, Thomas had his best game as a pass-catcher.

But a play he made early in the fourth-quarter may have been his best. Washington was down 17-10, and facing a second-and-4 from their own 36. J.D. McKissic ran right, and slammed into a wall of defenders. T.J. Watt stripped the ball from his grasp. It was right there on the ground waiting for Watt to scoop it up and rumble 35 yards for a two-touchdown lead.

Instead, Thomas dove from behind Watt and covered the ball just as Watt was about to secure it. Washington would safely punt the ball away two plays later.

In the fourth quarter, Thomas would tie the game and two Hopkins field goals would seal the unlikely win. Thomas caught nine balls for 98 yards that day, but it was the one he covered on the ground that mattered the most.