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Washington Football Team: Winners and losers from Week 2 preseason win over Bengals

By Jerry Trotta

LANDOVER, MARYLAND - AUGUST 20: Antonio Gandy-Golden #11 of the Washington Football Team runs with the ball in the second half during the NFL preseason game against the Cincinnati Bengals at FedExField on August 20, 2021 in Landover, Maryland. (Photo by Greg Fiume/Getty Images)
LANDOVER, MARYLAND - AUGUST 20: Antonio Gandy-Golden #11 of the Washington Football Team runs with the ball in the second half during the NFL preseason game against the Cincinnati Bengals at FedExField on August 20, 2021 in Landover, Maryland. (Photo by Greg Fiume/Getty Images) /
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WFT offensive line (Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images) /

Loser: Washington’s offensive line

For anybody wondering why the Football Team’s offense couldn’t get anything going in the first half, that’s because their offensive line wasn’t in sync.

Both Fitzpatrick and Taylor Heinicke were sacked and the running game, despite Patterson’s best efforts, averaged just 3.7 yards per carry.

We understand the logic behind not playing starters much in the preseason, but Rivera might have to reconsider that strategy regarding his OL on Saturday vs Baltimore, because the group looked anything but cohesive.

Winner: Antonio Gandy-Golden

Antonio Gandy-Golden was desperate to make an impact on this game, and he did just that — albeit against the Bengals second-stringers — by leading Washington in receiving with three catches for 38 yards.

Gandy-Golden had a bad drop vs the Patriots in Week 1, but atoned for that with a pretty-looking catch on a two-point conversion in the fourth quarter to put the Football Team up by a touchdown.

The 2020 fourth-rounder needs another strong showing against the Ravens to secure a roster spot, but he’s no doubt trending up.

Loser: Steven Sims Jr.

This one stings to admit, because we’ve been in Steven Sims Jr.’s corner all offseason, but we can’t defend him after his Week 2 performance.

Only his only target, Sims dropped what would’ve been a big gain on a post route. In his defense, a Bengals DB was waiting to light him up, but those are passes players on the roster bubble simply have to come down with.

Sims didn’t and he’s dug himself a deeper hole as a result.

Winner: Jamin Davis

Jamin Davis caught a lot of flak for his performance vs New England, but fans need to understand there’s going to be growing pains with the rookie linebacker.

Davis only played 17 snaps, but he was clearly in attack mode, which is a sign he’s been grinding in the film room. Despite registering just one tackle, he managed a stellar 75.3 grade from Pro Football Focus, which speaks to the impact he made.

We’re intrigued to see how Davis performs from week to week, but Friday’s game was a huge step in the right direction for the 22-year-old.

That should put a bow on this one, folks. However, we’d be remiss if we didn’t given an honorable winner’s mention to Dustin Hopkins, who made all three of his field goal attempts, and Benjamin St-Juste and Torry McTyer, who were outstanding starting in place of Kendal Fuller and William Jackson.

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