Washington Football Team: Takeaways from Ryan Fitzpatrick’s first snaps with WFT

On Thursday night, the Washington Football Team opened up its 2021 preseason against the New England Patriots.

In his first game as a quarterback for the Burgundy and Gold, the 38-year-old Ryan Fitzpatrick played only 2 drives and went 5-for-8 for 58 yards with zero touchdowns or interceptions. While it was a quiet night in the box score, there was still some Fitzmagic in Foxborough.

Here are some of the main takeaways from Fitzpatrick’s first snaps with Washington.

Throwing with confidence

The first and most important thing we saw is that Fitz, as expected, was not afraid to move the ball around. It was refreshing; it really was. Fans of the Football Team have gotten so used to short-yardage passing and game-managing from their recent quarterbacks, that it is somewhat foreign to have a pass thrown beyond the first down marker.

In 2020, Fitzpatrick was sixth in the league in yards per attempt while ex-Washington quarterback Alex Smith ranked 30th with 6.1 yards per pass attempt.

Fitzpatrick didn’t have anything too crazy happen in his first game. His longest completion went for 24 yards. However, we saw him consistently looking past the first down marker and throwing with confidence. That alone bodes incredibly well for Washington’s offense.

The chemistry is already there

Three of Fitzpatrick’s most eye-opening throws were to the Football Team’s two most effective receivers last season. Terry McLaurin finished his quick night by catching two of three targets for 25 yards. One of those included Fitzpatrick’s first completion of the game that went for 22 yards down the middle of the field. We could watch this on a loop for hours.

Fitz also found tight end Logan Thomas on a beautiful 24-yard back shoulder post route near the Washington sideline. Thomas looked good on the catch and seemed to be picking up right where he left off in his career year last season.

Thomas, of course, earned himself a new three-year contract extension with Washington for his superb play last year when he led the team with six receiving touchdowns. Hopefully, this first preseason game was indicative of what’s to come this season for the budding TE.

Fitzpatrick also targeted his familiar option in Adam Humphries a few times. Humphries played with Fitzpatrick in Tampa Bay during his stint there. These two have been getting a lot of buzz during training camp so far, we will see how that translates into the regular season.

There’s a lot to be excited about with Fitz. While it was just a small sample size from the first preseason game, he looked composed and confident. He’ll try to continue this play into the season, as he has found himself in what he says is, “His best situation ever.”

What did you think about Fitzpatrick’s performance? Let us know in the comment section below and stay tuned for more content heading into the season at Riggo’s Rag.