After their impressive 29-19 win over the Tampa Bay Bucs, Washington sits at 3-6, third in the NFC East, and five spots outside of the last wild card spot. The toughest part of their schedule is now over now over, but their remaining games have huge implications on seeding in the NFC.
19 PLAYS. 80 YARDS. OVER TEN MINUTES.@WashingtonNFL just iced the game with a historic TD drive. #WashingtonFootball #TBvsWAS pic.twitter.com/pgG0qi9P9V
— NFL (@NFL) November 14, 2021
Going forward, Washington plays Carolina, Seattle (MNF), Las Vegas, Dallas and Philly twice, then closing it out against the Giants. Beating Tampa was huge, but don’t expect some big turn around and for this team to compete for a wild card spot, let alone the division with the lead Dallas has. The max amount of games I can see them winning is three.
Over the last month, they’ve had a string of bad injuries to key players. Logan Thomas, Brandon Scherff, William Jackson III, have all missed time due to injury but have come back, or in the case of Logan Thomas, very close to getting back on the field.
But then you look at some of the more serious ones that have been a huge killer to this team.
Ryan Fitzpatrick, who injured his hip in week one, is not expected to return to play this season, according to Ian Rappaport. Montez Sweat suffered a “non-displaced fractured jaw” vs Denver and is expected to miss 4-6 weeks. Chase Roullier fractured his fibula in the Broncos game, he is also out for the season.
#WashingtonFootball QB Ryan Fitzpatrick Done For Season #NFL #NFLTwitter pic.twitter.com/vAMR0S2ux3
— NFL Rumors (@nflrums) November 14, 2021
Then you have the ongoing Curtis Samuel situation, which is unknown, and at this point I fully expect the team to shut up him down for the season. With the way this is trending, don’t be surprised if they opt for surgery, allowing him to fully recover and look forward to 2022 is clearly the best option. But their injury woes took a massive turn for the worse on Sunday.
People within the organization fear Chase Young suffered a torn ACL, which would end his season. This is a huge damper on the season, and depending on how long the recovery time takes, this could linger into the next season.
Washington fears Chase Young tore his ACL, per @RapSheet https://t.co/EhuM0xisBW
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) November 14, 2021
This roster as a whole isn’t bad, but they leave a lot to be desired. The offense is middle of the pack, the defense has been straight-up atrocious, and the record is a direct reflection of the team’s performance.
Taylor Heincke is shown that he belongs in the NFL but as a backup/spot QB. They need to find a guy that consistently elevates the offense. The pass-catching group as a whole has been good, but they have yet to all be healthy at the same time. Cam Sims, Dyami Brown, Logan Thomas, and Curtis Samuel have all yet to be on the field at the same time, opening up the field for Terry McLaurin.
As a whole, this season has to be considered a fail. They’ve improved as the season has gone on, but when it is all said and done, I fully expect them to be around the top of the draft, more than likely trying to find their franchise QB.
