Washington Football Team: 3 players who earned Week 1 playing time in preseason opener

The Washington Football Team fell to the New England Patriots by a final score of 22-12 in its first preseason game on Thursday night.

Though the scoreline suggests the Patriots were in control for most of the night, the end result wasn’t confirmed until the waning moments when Rhamondre Stevenson broke off a 91-yard touchdown run to gift New England a two-score lead with just over a minute remaining.

Like any preseason opener played in rainy conditions, there was a lot of ugly football. However, let’s not waste energy dwelling on the negatives. After all, fans were looking for growth and reasons to be excited about the regular season than actually being on the winning side.

With so many questions about who could start Week 1, let’s highlight three players who moved closer to earning playing time against the Chargers on Sept. 12.

Football Team: 3 players who stood out in preseason opener

3. Ryan Fitzpatrick

You were probably expecting a rookie or player on the roster bubble to take the No. 3 spot, but the last time we checked, Ryan Fitzpatrick hasn’t been named the starting quarterback. In other words, the 38-year-old was under significant pressure against the Patriots.

The fact Fitzpatrick only attempted eight passes tells you where he stands in the QB competition, but it’s encouraging he made the most of his opportunities. He finished 5-of-8 for 58 yards, including a pair of completions of more than 20 yards to Terry McLaurin and Logan Thomas.

Fitzpatrick has never been gun-shy — he’s thrown at least 12 interceptions on eight occasions during his career — but the trust he showed in his teammates in tight windows suggests the Football Team’s offense will have home run ability in 2021. That wasn’t the case last year.

This isn’t us overreacting to one preseason game, either. All we were looking for was Fitz to show command of the offense and to avoid any back-breaking mistakes. It’s still impossible to project his regular season outlook, but he no doubt moved a step closer to being named the starter.