Washington Football Team: 4 things we learned in win over Bengals

2. Ereck Flowers is winning LG battle.

There were whispers during training camp this week that Ereck Flowers was getting extended run with the first-team offense, and they ultimately proved true on Friday, as Flowers started the game at left guard.

This comes off as a surprise given that Wes Schweitzer performed well in 16 games (13 starts) as the starting left guard last season. For context, Schweitzer received an elite 69.0 blocking grade from Pro Football Focus, committing just two penalties and allowing five sacks over 990 snaps.

Ereck Flowers has leapfrogged Wes Schweitzer on the depth chart.

While the competition may still be close, Flowers getting the start over Schweitzer suggests he’s in the driver’s eat to reclaim the position he held with Washington back in 2019 before he signed with Miami last offseason.

It also seems noteworthy that Flowers was given two straight series vs the Bengals. If you remember last Thursday against the Patriots,  Flowers subbed in for Schweitzer, who started the game, after the first series.

It just feels like Rivera is trying to tell us something, and the message we’re gathering is that Flowers has a leg up on Schweitzer.