Studs and duds from Week 12 as Washington moves into Wild Card spot
By Jerry Trotta
The Washington Football Team improved to 5-6 after their 17-15 win over the Seattle Seahawks on Monday Night Football.
With the victory, Washington jumped into the second Wild Card spot in the NFC. If the season ended today, the Football Team would be traveling to Lambeau Field for a date Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers.
There’s obviously plenty of season to go, but Washington fans have every right to start thinking about the playoffs. Of their final six games, five will come against division rivals, so they’ll have chances to bolster their standing.
But enough about that.
Let’s focus on what was another thrilling win for Ron Rivera’s side by highlighting the game’s best and worst performers.
Washington Football Team: Studs and duds from Week 12
Stud: Landon Collins
This is now the second time this season in which Landon Collins has headlined the “studs” portion of this article. If you told us that would happen after his start to the year, when he was getting torched in coverage, we would’ve laughed in your face.
Now, it’s Collins who’s getting the last laugh, because he has been a game-wrecker since he transitioned to a box linebacker. The former All-Pro was dominant at the line of scrimmage against the Seahawks, blowing up multiple running plays and executing a perfect punch to force a fumble on Alex Collins.
The best part about that play? Collins was beat, but used tremendous effort to get himself back in position to force the turnover. He’s stacking up good games, but Monday night might’ve been his finest performance to date.
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Stud/Dud: Taylor Heinicke
This was largely an up and down performance from Taylor Heinicke, who struggled pushing the ball downfield. His miss on a deep shot to Terry McLaurin was especially frustrating, as McLaurin had at least two steps on his defender and Heinicke misfired to his back shoulder. His interception was also a poor decision.
On the flip side, though, Heinicke was pretty darn efficient yet again. He completed 77.1% of his passes and spread the ball around, as five different players finished with three or more receptions in the game.
The 28-year-old also displayed tremendous awareness and improvisation to avoid getting sacked. Don’t look now, but Heinicke now has wins over Russell Wilson, Tom Brady, Matt Ryan and Cam Newton this season.