Washington Football Team: 10 quick thoughts from fourth-straight loss

The Washington Football Team entered their Week 8 matchup against the Denver Broncos in desperate need of a win.

If you didn’t know the records of these squads entering the game, you likely could’ve predicted that both had losing records. Let’s just say much more attractive brands of football were on display during the Halloween slate.

All that matters, though, is that Washington lost. Ron Rivera’s side now sit at 2-6 with the bye week on deck and the defending champion Buccaneers awaiting on the schedule in Week 10. Could it get much worse?

We’re not going to answer that (it probably can). For now, let’s dive into some quick thoughts from Washington’s fourth consecutive defeat.

10 quick thoughts from Washington’s Week 8

Bad play-calling: Washington put together a punishing opening drive. Taylor Heinicke carved open Denver’s defense with his legs and JD Mckissic made a couple of splash plays. When push came to shove, though, Ron Rivera dialed up a quick out to Ricky Seals-Jones on 4th and 1 that had no chance of being converted even if the tight end came up with the catch. Why abandon the run in that situation?

A failed tight end screen on a 2nd and 4 with Washington knocking on the door early in the second quarter halted another strong drive before a Saahdiq Charles false start capped another brutal sequence of events for the offense.

Missed opportunities: On Washington’s first defensive possession, Bobby McCain dropped a WIDE open interception. The veteran safety looked to have reeled it in, but it was jarred loose (by the air?) at the defining moment. Luckily, a James-Smith Williams sack and a penalty on Denver derailed what looked to be a promising drive. This missed opportunity could have cost Washington big time in a different scenario.

So, about releasing Dustin Hopkins: Wait, so you’re telling us releasing Dustin Hopkins, which we said could blow up in Washington’s face, hasn’t panned out? After Sunday’s second quarter debacle, three of Chris Blewitt’s first four field goal attempts for the club have failed to make it past the line of scrimmage.

Blewitt’s first attempt vs Denver wasn’t even blocked. The kick had so little air underneath it that it ricocheted off Wes Schweitzer’s helmet. Just minutes later, Brandon McManus drilled a 45-yarder to give Denver a 3-0 lead.

Because football makes no sense whatsoever, Blewitt, much like he did last week, responded by nailing a 52-yarder. You can’t make it up.

BUT WAIT.

We actually had that written out before Blewitt attempted a go-ahead field goal in the fourth quarter. In the most predictable outcome ever, this kick was blocked, too, and it led to Denver scoring a go-ahead TD.

Rivera has some serious explaining to do.

Does Landon Collins have a future at LB?: It’s too early to tell, but Collins has impressed in his new box linebacker position. On a 2nd and 8 with the Broncos in the red zone, Collins sacked Teddy Bridgewater to set up third and long.

Collins’ impact lasted beyond this one sequence, too. By the midway point of the first half, the 27-year-old made a handful of big plays on defense. His tackle for loss on a 3rd and 1 in the third quarter was a thing of beauty. He has a long way to go to win back fans’ hearts, but these last two games were a great start

With more reps at LB, Collins should only improve.

End of first half woes continue: This marks the second straight week that Washington’s defense has crumbled at the end of the first half. In Week 7 against Green Bay, Aaron Rodgers connected with Allen Lazard for a 10-yard touchdown with 15 seconds remaining in the second quarter to take a 14-7 lead.

On Sunday, the Broncos orchestrated a commanding seven-play, 75-yard drive (that took over four minutes off the clock) that resulted in a 15-yard touchdown from Bridgewater to Melvin Gordon with just over a minute left.

On the ensuing possession, Washington … didn’t respond.

Don’t take Sam Cosmi/Cornelius Lucas for granted: Sam Cosmi (knee) and Cornelius Lucas (illness) were unavailable for Sunday’s game, and man, were they missed. We hate to come down too hard on Saahdiq Charles, who made his second career start, but he was put in a blender by the Broncos’ pass rush all game long.

Washington better hope Cosmi or Lucas get healthy during the bye, because Charles was a disaster at right tackle.

Again, though, we’re talking about a third-string RT.

Open field tackling wasn’t terrible: Maybe we have to go back and watch film to confirm, but Washington’s defense was very disciplined in the open field. Benjamin St-Juste and Danny Johnson made a pair of key tackles on Denver’s opening drive of the second half to get Taylor Heinicke and Co. the ball back.

We know these are small victories, but missed tackles (especially in the open field) were a huge storyline early on in the season.

OL injuries piling up: Already down Brandon Scherff, Sam Cosmi and Cornelius Lucas, Washington also watched center Chase Roullier get carted off the field after his ankle got twisted up. Roullier was quickly ruled out for the game and his teammates were gathered around him as he was carted off.

That’s never a good sign.

Wes Schweitzer subbed in and he .. looked like a backup. We recall him giving up a handful of pressures and he had a brutal sequence early in the third quarter when he was called for a hold that negated a first down and gave up a sack on a play where he ended up on his backside.

Even Ereck Flowers went down in the closing moments!

The bye week comes at a perfect time for Washington, because they can’t sustain another game playing multiple backups along the OL.

Taylor Heinicke delivered a Halloween treat: For all of his late reads, errant throws and poor decision-making, Heinicke occasionally uncorks a throw that makes you wonder whether he can be a franchise quarterback. He obviously isn’t that guy, but he delivered a peach of a fade route to DeAndre Carter near the end of the third quarter to level the score at 10-10.

It’s not always pretty, but Heinicke’s put Washington’s offense on his back on numerous occasions this season, and Sunday was no different. You gotta respect a player that continuously shows up in the clutch for his teammates.

Different game, same result: This was almost a carbon copy of Washington’s loss to Green Bay last Sunday. They out-gained Denver by almost 100 yards and still lost. Heinicke had happy feet on the most important play of the game and was strip-sacked by Justin Simmons that set Washington up with a 4th and goal from the 20-yard line. On the next play, Heinicke heaved up a pass that was picked off in the end zone.

We’re not sure how Heinicke didn’t feel the weak side pressure. You’d think he’d have better pocket awareness by now.

We thought that iced the game, but Melvin Gordon fumbled while the Broncos were trying to milk the clock to give Washington new life. To add insult to injury, Heinicke and Co. couldn’t come through, as the QB’s final pass on fourth down was thrown out of the back of the end zone. Game over.

It couldn’t have just ended after the pick, right? Denver HAD to give us false hope of a potential Halloween miracle.

What a disaster of a game, on both sides. Washington now sits at 2-6 and it might be time to start thinking about draft position.