AP Photo/Alex Brandon
The 2021 Washington Football Team is in the win column.
Washington defeated the New York Giants 30-29 in Thursday’s thrilling NFC East showdown at FedExField. Taylor Heinicke and Terry McLaurin led the way for the home team, which played without quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick but still improved to 1-1 after its season-opening loss to the Los Angeles Chargers.
Heinicke led the Football Team down the field while facing a two-point deficit in the final two minutes and set up Dustin Hopkins’ game-winning field goal from 43 yards out. Hopkins missed his first attempt from 48 yards out, but New York was offside for a game-costing penalty.
A solid showing from Daniel Jones wasn’t enough for the Giants, who are already staring at a deficit in the division at 0-2.
Notable Player Stats
- Taylor Heinicke, QB, WAS: 34-of-46 for 336 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT
- Terry McLaurin, WR, WAS: 11 catches for 107 yards and 1 TD
- J.D. McKissic, RB, WAS: 4 carries for 10 yards, 1 TD; 5 catches for 83 yards
- Daniel Jones, QB, NYG: 22-of-32 for 249 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT; 9 carries for 95 yards, 1 TD
- Sterling Shepard, WR, NYG: 9 catches for 94 yards
Taylor Heinicke Plays Hero Role
Expectations were high in Washington coming into the year after it won the NFC East last season and added Fitzpatrick, but plans immediately shifted to Heinicke when the starter went down with an injury in Week 1.
Thursday was Heinicke’s first chance to prepare as the starter since he impressed in a playoff loss to the eventual champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and he was dialed in from the start while leading his team to a 14-10 halftime lead.
He immediately locked in on McLaurin, which is never a bad idea in Washington, and had plenty of time in the pocket while directing two touchdown drives. One ended with a strike to McLaurin and the second came with the quarterback operating the no-huddle offense until J.D. McKissic found the end zone.
NFL @NFL
Taylor Heinicke ➡️ <a href=”https://twitter.com/JdMckissic?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>@JdMckissic</a>. <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/WashingtonFootball?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#WashingtonFootball</a><br><br>📺: <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/NYGvsWAS?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#NYGvsWAS</a> on <a href=”https://twitter.com/nflnetwork?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>@NFLNetwork</a><br>📱: <a href=”https://t.co/VR50LZIQwH”>https://t.co/VR50LZIQwH</a> <a href=”https://t.co/cka65MdMky”>pic.twitter.com/cka65MdMky</a>
Despite Heinicke’s quick start, the Football Team still trailed heading into the fourth quarter in part because the defense struggled to get off the field against Jones and the Giants offense.
That put the quarterback making his second career regular-season start firmly under the spotlight, especially when he started a drive facing a six-point deficit in the final five minutes. All he did was lead a two-play, 75-yard touchdown drive with a deep ball to McKissic in stride and a perfectly placed throw to Ricky Seals-Jones in the corner of the end zone.
Rather than taking the easy route to a win from there, he threw an interception to James Bradberry while nursing a lead. Though New York turned that into a field goal, Heinicke responded by calmly taking what the defense gave him all the way until a sideline route to Adam Humphries put Washington into field-goal range.
The Football Team couldn’t have asked for more from the backup-turned-starter.
Costly Mistakes Doom Giants
Jones could only do so much.
While his offense was under plenty of pressure after scoring just 13 points in the opening loss to the Denver Broncos, he responded in defiant fashion. He was in full control from the start and led the Giants 79 yards for an opening-drive touchdown while getting the ball out quickly and capping off the possession by running it in himself.
Jones also fired an impressive long pass to Darius Slayton for a go-ahead touchdown in the third quarter and stood strong in the face of constant pressure throughout the game even though he was sacked four times.
Yet the Giants lost because of their costly mistakes.
Jones’ long touchdown run in the second quarter was nullified by a holding penalty, and the visitors settled for a field goal. A deep ball to a wide-open Slayton to go ahead by two scores in the fourth quarter hit the wide receiver’s hands and fell to the ground before two false starts and yet another field goal.
The offense was also unable to capitalize on Bradberry’s interception in scoring position and settled for another field goal after a three-and-out.
Yet even with all the missed chances and perhaps some missed opportunities to go for fourth downs, the Giants still appeared to win the game when Hopkins missed his field goal at the end. It was only fitting, though, that they were offside on the play.
What’s Next?
The Giants host the Atlanta Falcons in Week 3, while the Football Team travels to face the Buffalo Bills.
