Washington Football Team: Studs and duds from Week 8 as Landon Collins shines

Stud: JD McKissic

Honest question: has JD McKissic produced one dud this season?

At this point, he’s Washington’s second-most important player on offense behind Terry McLaurin, and it’s not even close. On Sunday, McKissic led the way with eight catches for 83 yards, 32 yards more than the next-closest receiver. He now has 20 receptions over the last three games, good for the team lead.

McKissic has emerged as Taylor Heinicke’s security blanket, but he’s more than that. He’s one of the best third-down backs in the league and a candidate for Washington’s player of the season thus far.

Dud: Montez Sweat

The Football Team defense generated pretty consistent pressure against Bridgewater on Sunday, but it was no thanks to Montez Sweat.

For the record, Chase Young could be lumped into this group. The second-year pro was largely invisible as a pass-rusher, but he forced a fumble on Melvin Gordon on a perfectly-timed punch while Denver was trying to milk the clock. Those kind of impact plays get you a pass for a hushed performance.

Sweat, on the other hand, was quiet and made zero impact plays. The old double whammy. He also committed a penalty in the first half.

Stud: DeAndre Carter

On a night where McLaurin caught just three of seven targets for 27 yards, DeAndre Carter stepped up as Heinicke’s go-to receiver. Sure, Carter only finished with three receptions, but each of them came in big moments. He scored Washington’s lone touchdown on a beautiful pitch-and-catch fade from Heinicke.

We’d love to see Carter remain in the starting lineup as a WR4 when the receiving corps is back to full-strength.

Dud: Terry McLaurin

Before you jump us, we’re not saying that McLaurin played poorly. He just wasn’t heavily involved, for whatever reason. That’s on the coaching staff and their gameplan as much as it is on Heinicke. Simply put, a player of McLaurin’s caliber should never finish a game with just three catches for 23 yards on seven targets.

We know Heinicke isn’t the type of QB who can get the ball to his top playmaker on command, but he needs to do a better job of getting McLaurin the ball.