3 defining plays that helped Washington knock off Panthers
By Jerry Trotta
For the first time since they rattled off four straight wins from Weeks 11-14 last year, the Washington Football Team is on a winning streak.
What made Sunday’s triumph all the more glorious?
Well, the fact that Ron Rivera and Taylor Heinicke (to a lesser extent, obviously) picked up wins in their returns to Carolina comes to mind. As does spoiling Cam Newton’s homecoming, which tasted even sweeter after we were forced to watch his obnoxious touchdown celebration in the second quarter.
Off the top of our mind, there were at least a handful of defining moments that helped swing the momentum back in Washington’s favor or helped keep the wind in their sails.
We’ll probably leave out a play or two that some folks thought was more significant, but these three stood out the most in our eyes.
3 plays that helped Washington defeat the Panthers
3. Troy Apke recovering DeAndre Carter’s fumble
Just like we all predicted: Troy Apke coming in clutch for Washington in a game that had huge playoff implications.
In all seriousness, Apke’s recovery of DeAndre Carter’s fumble was arguably the turning point in the game. The fact it happened as early as it did, though, left plenty of room for other plays to take centerstage. However, that takes nothing away from the significance of this recovery.
For starters, Carter’s fumble came right after Newton ripped off a 24-yard touchdown run and galvanized the crowd at Bank of America Stadium by unleashing a celebration that somehow finished at midfield.
Had the Panthers pounced on the loose pigskin, they at least put three more points on the board, if not a touchdown to open up a 21-14 lead. We’re not even sure how Apke (No. 30) managed to spot the ball, let alone fall on it, because there was a swarm of white and black jerseys within the vicinity.
DeAndre Carter fumbled on this KO return and the ball is somewhere in that mass of humanity on the 29. Troy Apke somehow spots it and is able to dive in there to get it and save WFT's possession. Terry would go on to score on this drive just before half pic.twitter.com/dzXRBYYjDV
— Pete Hailey (@PeteHaileyNBCS) November 22, 2021
If you look back at the replay, Apke was nowhere close to the play when Carter fumbled, so for him to come up with it at the bottom of the scrap is impressive. Safe to say Apke won over a lot of fans with this incredible hustle play.
Twelve plays and 75 yards later, Taylor Heinicke and Terry McLaurin would connect for a 12-yard TD to tie things up at 14 apiece.