Week 12 Reality Checks: Washington vs Seattle

3. The Reality Is, depth wins games.

Taylor Heinicke, Jon Bates, DeAndre Carter, Tyler Larsen, Wes Schweitzer, Cornelius Lucas, James Smith-Williams, Troy Apke, Casey Toohill and Danny Johnson have all made significant contributions to the current winning streak (does two wins count as a streak?). The other thing they have in common? They started the season buried on the depth chart. But injuries have necessitated they log significant snaps with regularity. Without the quality depth that Ron Rivera and his coaches and scouting staff have built, these two games could not have possibly ended in wins. The quality depth that Washington now has is distinctly better than in recent memory. To have experienced the amount of injuries this team has this season and still be improving throughout the season is an impressive feat. Even if this season doesn’t result in a late-season playoff push, the performance of the backups should be encouraging to fans. Over the next two weeks, I’ll be keying in on the development of the team’s depth.