Washington ruins Cam’s homecoming: Key numbers from second straight win

The Good: Efficient Offense, Shutdown Defense

190: Washington gained 190 yards on the ground, averaging a solid 4.8 yards per attempt, against the second-best defense in the NFL, which gave up only 218.3 total yards per game over its last three contests.

2-2: Washington went 2-for-2 on 4th downs. The first came on the touchdown drive before the half when a 4th and inches turned into a 4th and 5 due to a false start penalty. No biggie, Heinicke found DeAndre Carter for 18 yards to keep the drive alive.

The second conversion was on Washington’s last scoring drive when the team was trying to put the game away. The play looked dead in its tracks, but Heincke bought time with his legs before finding John Bates for six yards. 7+ seconds elapsed from the snap to the throw!

22.2: After allowing opponents to convert on 56% of their third downs over the first eight games, Washington held the Bucs to 40% on third downs last week and the Panthers to 22.2% this week. That’s a big reason why Washington has won these last two games.

Washington also held Carolina to 1-for-3 on fourth downs including a clutch tackle by Kam Curl on Christian McCaffrey, which effectively ended the game.

61: Outside of the three touchdown drives, Washington held the Panthers to 61 total yards on its seven other possessions.

76: After being benched for most of the first half after a costly fumble in the red zone, Antonio Gibson bounced back with a huge second half, with 14 carries for 76 yards, finishing with a season-high 95 rushing yards.

127: Over his last two games, Heinicke has completed 77.7% of his passes, averaged 231 yards, thrown four TDs and no interceptions with a 127.0 passer rating. Not too shabby for an undrafted free agent.

23: Washington is undefeated this season when it scores over 23 points. Since 2020, the Panthers are 0-16 in games when allowing 22+ points and 10-1 when allowing 21 or less.

5: Terry McLaurin had his 22nd career game with over five receptions, surpassing Gary Clark for most five+ reception games in Washington history over a player’s first three seasons.

This isn’t a number, but Troy Apke came up with a huge fumble recovery on Carter’s kick return after Carolina had just taken a 14-7 lead. Washington would go on to tie the game on that drive. For all the hate that Apke gets from fans, this was a heads-up play that could have completely changed the trajectory of the game if the ball had been recovered by the Panthers.