3 Washington losses that hurt the most in 2021

The Washington Football Team’s 2021 season was very much defined by a pair of four-game losing streaks. The club did great to overcome the first skid by winning four straight coming out of the bye, but they lost the next four games; two each against the Dallas Cowboys and Philadelphia Eagles.

So, yeah, Washington’s season was the definition of a rollercoaster.

The highs, like smacking the reigning champion Buccaneers at home in Week 10, were very high, and the lows, such as the 42-point drubbing against Dallas on Sunday Night Football in Week 16, were extremely low.

You know where we’re going with this, right? The early stage of the offseason is meant to reflect on a team’s accomplishments and failures. Unfortunately for Washington, there was more of the latter, so let’s take a stroll down memory lane and highlight the 2021 losses that hurt the most.

3 most painful Washington Football Team losses from 2021

3. Week 5 vs Saints

Both of the Eagles losses were considered, but we’re not going to let recency bias hijack this conversation. At the end of the day, the Week 5 loss to the Saints was one of the most agonizing defeats of the year for Washington.

For starters, the offense left a ton of points on the board. Dustin Hopkins converted two field goals inside 25 yards. If those are touchdowns, Washington wins this game pretty handily. Instead, they lost by 11 points.

The first of those short field goals came after Jameis Winston was picked on the opening possession, too. We can vividly remember how frustrated the fan base was that Washington failed to make New Orleans pay, and rightly so.

Somehow, it only got worse from there. To close the first half, the Saints completed probably the easiest Hail Mary you’ll ever see. Not only was Washington not in prevent defense — they expected a quick play before the deep shot –but the defensive players that were in position to swat the ball away either mistimed their jump, didn’t track the ball, or didn’t jump nearly high enough.

The completion broke a 13-13 deadlock and put all the wind in the Saints’ sails. Though Washington’s defense held firm for most of the second half, an UGLY Taylor Heinicke interception on 3rd and 10 deep from his own end zone allowed New Orleans to score the game-sealing touchdown.

It was one of the worst interceptions of the entire season for any team, so it was almost fitting it came in this train wreck of a game. If you don’t believe us, go take a look at the highlights, but do so at your own risk.